On this date in 1993, an extraordinarily intense storm roared up the East Coast. It has been referred to as the “1993 Superstorm,” the “Storm of the Century” and the “Blizzard of 1993.”
Heavy snow and blizzard conditions extended from the Gulf States to New England and the Ohio Valley to the East Coast. Hurricane-force winds battered cities along the Atlantic Coast. Deadly tornadoes were spawned in Florida, and tremendous waves and tides hit the beaches from Key West to Maine.
The March 12-14 storm was remarkable for both its size and strength. The National Weather Service described it as one of the most powerful storms ever observed in the eastern United States. The massive system produced impacts across nearly half the country and generated snowfall from Alabama to Maine. Barometric pressure in parts of the storm rivaled that of a Category 3 hurricane.
Compared with areas to the south and north, the D.C. region escaped the worst of the storm. Still, the system delivered one of the area’s more memorable March snowfalls. At Reagan National Airport, a calendar-day record 6.6 inches of snow fell; 14.1 inches fell at Washington Dulles International Airport; and 11.9 inches at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport. Sleet and rain mixed with the snow in D.C. and points south and east, limiting totals near the city compared with colder inland suburbs.
Strong winds whipped the heavy, wet snow and created difficult travel conditions Friday into Saturday. Schools and businesses shut down across the region as the storm intensified overnight. However, the area’s response drew praise afterward. Metrorail kept all lines operating through the storm, and road crews succeeded in keeping many major highways passable despite bursts of heavy snow and blowing snow.
Farther west, conditions became far more severe. Parts of western Maryland, West Virginia and the Appalachians were buried under several feet of snow with true blizzard conditions. Wind gusts exceeded 70 mph in some locations.
See these articles about the storm:
- The five most remarkable attributes of the Storm of the Century
- Fierce snowstorm overpowers area
- Meteorologist recalls March 1993 ‘Storm of the Century’ 30 years later
Here are other notables for the day:
- Average high: 55
- Average low: 38
- Record high: 87 (1990)
- Record low: 14 (1896)
- Record precipitation: 2.29 inches (1993)
- Record snowfall: 6.5 inches (1993)
