A Northeast Alabamian's Diary
3/12 - 3/17


Snow in the South is wonderful. It has a kind of magic and mystery that it has nowhere else. And the reason for this is that it comes to people in the South not as the grim, unyielding tenant of Winter's keep, but as a strange and wild visitor from the secret North. -THOMAS WOLFE


Friday, March 12, 1993... begins a week of scenes, smells, landscapes and reminiscences that will remain etched in my memory many years. I was leaving for my home state of Kentucky after work. I would be going thru Nashville, but their forecast was calling for 4" of snow by noon. Soon afterwards our local Bama forecast was upgraded from snow showers to 4 - 6" of snow. I called Mama at noon and told her I would come another time.

I left work about 5:30 with no hint of snow anywhere. I stopped to get 5 of the Civil War series tapes at Blockbuster's. Just before turning onto our road it began a sleet/snow mixture that collected quickly on the windshield. 6:00 PM The temperature was 36º. Our daughter, an xray tech, called. She would stay at the hospital tonight because of deteriorating road conditions.

The sleet lasted about half an hour and then the wet, fluffy snow began falling in earnest. By 8:00 all roads were closed. It was laying fast. There were two inches on the ground and ice/snow sticking to trees, branches and bushes.... a picture postcard! I raised the blinds in the living room and dining room and sat on the couch watching that pretty white stuff falling, our little American Eskimo, Charmin, at my side. I took one roll of film outside before Hubby got home. It was dark as the inside of a hat, but the flash did a pretty good job. I just KNEW it would stop snowing soon, and I had to get pictures! (Oh for the digital camera back then.)

At 8:30 Hubby called. He was closing down nightshift and heading home. It took him a while to get here; the roads were icy and slick. We put on our winter coats after he got home, and he, Coco, our Border Collie mix, and I went walking in the snow as it peppered down all around us. We walked up the mountain behind us. What beauty!... the flakes were thick, fat, fluffy, lots of 'em, and sticking to everything. (Dare I say it was almost a blizzard?. Nawww.. not in Alabama.)

After getting off work that same morning, Hubby had gone to the grocery for milk, eggs, bread, etc.. along with the rest of our rural town. (As the saying goes, mention "snow", and your presence is required at the local grocery. It doesn't matter whether you need anything or not. You just have to go there.) Chili for late supper at 10:00 when we got back. About 10:30 the Weather Channel began forecasting 16" ?? I listened to the bulletin twice before I called Hubby into the living room. "Listen to this... is he saying SIXTEEN INCHES?" We were little kids again. After all, it was Friday, and we could enjoy it the whole weekend. Right.

At 11:00 we put in the first tape to watch. At Midnight, the lights flickered. Thunder and lightning, a hard snowfall...! It WAS a blizzard... with Thunder Snow and green lightning. In Alabama! The winds were howling and the snow/sleet was pinging against the windows. It sounded like the blizzard audio tape I'd listened to so often going to sleep. At 12:45 we lost our power. We would be without power for 5 days.

We fired up the kerosene lamp and a portable radio. That little radio stayed on 18-20 hrs a day.. our link to the outside world. At first, the local DJ balked at people wanting to give out personal messages due to FCC regs, but soon they turned everything over to PSAs: those letting their families know they were all right; where they were, etc. Folks were stranded all over. Bamians don't get a lot of practice driving in the white stuff. It was snowing about 1"/hr.

Bedtime around 1:00 a.m.; up again at 3:00. The lightning and thunder were really booming outside. No way this weather-watcher could sleep. I sat in the living room, Charmie still by my side, watching this awesome green lightning. Weather reports said the wind was @40mph, with gusts higher. It was whispering and howling around the whole house and 'crackling' the pines outside.


Saturday: 3/13
Finally fell asleep around 5:00 a.m. and woke at 7:00. Can I stand it... STILL SNOWING! 18-20" on the ground that a.m. and continued until around 6:00 P.M. We had accumulated 24" in as many hours. When we ventured outside.. the snow was above my knees! 24" of the most beautiful, pristine, glistening, delicious, white stuff I'd ever seen.

The younger pines under the white blanket were leaning to the ground making magical snow caves. The clothesline was wearing two solid ice 'footballs' somehow spun by the wind. All around us the woods were so quiet.. a stillness almost demanding reverence. I don't remember even my home state of Kentucky serving up such a Feast of Winter! Hubby shoveled a pathway from the front door to the wood pile so the pups could walk with us during the coming days of hauling wood. When Charmin and Shannah were in the path you couldn't see them until they exited onto the porch. They thought they were at home... but not quite sure.

Scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast, prepared on the old Coleman stove that still had fuel in it; biscuits from the propane grill on the porch. What we could transfer from the Coleman lantern gave us almost a full tank for the stove.

Utility companies couldn't get their trucks moving due to the depth of the snow. They were calling in power companies from 6 surrounding states. Trees laden with ice and snow were down over power lines in every north central and northeast county in the state. Power outages were widespread and AL Power didn't have a clue how long it would take to get service back... to ANYone. "Make the best of what you've got, and use it sparingly."

The DJs educated the public re: safe and unsafe means of heating and cooking. We'd bring in the propane grill to the kitchen. Hubby keeps a spare full tank and the one on the grill was half full. The little Coleman tank wouldn't last long. Warmed up chili in fireplace for lunch. Ymmmm... We doin' good as frontiersmen :)


The temperature Friday night was 30º; but, Saturday it was dropping fast with a wind-chill factor of minus 15º. We had to get serious about keeping warm. Alabama's insulation R-rating was severely lacking.

Hubby dug out the firewood stash at the edge of the woods. We spent the better part of Saturday hauling wood for the fireplace. It was COLD, in the 20's, during the day, and to get colder that night.


We camped in the living room beside the fire listening to the radio ontop the now defunct TV. (Yep.. we sat there staring at the blank TV screen, listening to the radio.) The kerosene lamp was flickering on top the mantle... and 2 generations before us used to read by that light! We hung blankets at the LR doors to trap the fireplace heat. Charmie and Shannah stayed huddled close to us all night. Coco was snuggled by the water heater in the basement. Barney the cat wouldn't come in from his insulated house on the back porch. He was hibernating, not too interested in anything going on.

Saturday evening, just before "hard dark", Hubby found a huge branch fallen, caving in the back of the carport where his boat was parked ... his boat?? The man was terror-stricken! The tall seat in the back of the boat caught the weight and was protecting the motor.





Low Temp: 9º
Sunday: 3/14
I hard-boiled all the eggs, cooked corn for our next meal. These 5 1/2 days we would eat too much from the fridge and 2 freezers. But then, we worked it off hauling wood :)

We packed everything from fridge into 3 ice chests and put them on the table on side porch tor easy reach. As we were opening the storm door to come inside, the entire roof broke away from side of house and three support beams at the side of the porch and fell under the weight the snow and ice. The opened back door and the butane gas grill kept us safe..

The table on which we had JUST placed the 3 ice chests was crumpled under the roof taking the ice chests along with it, except one. They and our food were wedged between the "broke-leg" table and the roof. The grill wasn't damaged, but its cart was leaning badly. Barney's house was safe, and the ole feller wasn't aware anything unusual had happened. We moved his house to a safer area; still... he remained oblivious to everything. We pulled out the ice chest pieces, got the groceries out and combined into the remaining ice chest and moved it to the front porch into snow taller than it was.

The DJ's were super. For hours and days they kept everyone up on local conditions, people without heat or food or home-bound, the surrounding communities without power. They were ever-so-busy sending messages over the air to families. Calls came in continuously: x power was out, pipes frozen, "Is Mama okay; tell her I'm okay, if she's listening.." Many were without telephone, tho we always had Ma Bell.

Sunday, the 4-wheelers were delivering water, food, clothing, blankets, firewood, kerosene heaters and supplies to medical-necessity cases, transporting those stranded and others from ill-equipped homes to area shelters. These dear angels were just local "civies" wanting to help their neighbors, had the means, and were a blessing to many.

We had been saving what hot water we had left in the tank. Then sometime Sunday as Hubby was passing through the basement, he heard the gas hot water tank crank up :) Even though our gas furnace was disabled, the gas water heater was working. Ya' just can't say too much about a hot shower!


Our daughter, still marooned at the hospital, had lights, heat, food... and was thankful to be there. Ummm... she's just not a snow-bunny :) Our son called from San Diego after talking with Mama. As Hubby was telling him about the branch falling on the carport, he looked out the kitchen window and saw the *entire* carport roof had collapsed. The ever-crumpling seat was still offering protection for the motor.

Low temp: 10º
Monday: 3/15
Today we had cabbage and hamburger casserole. Hubby shoveled a bit at the driveway. We hauled wood all day long. The firewood was over a year old, and burning too fast. Mama called again to see if we were making it. I remarked to Hubby, " This survival stuff is hard work!!" We had not stopped all weekend. Heard on radio: Northern 2/3's of state was hit really hard.

Tuesday, Wednesday: 3/16-17
Routine about the same... cut and haul wood, cut and haul wood. We cleaned outside daily at the cave-ins and tried to haul away as much as we could behind the house. The snow was ever-present (Yes!)... until Wednesday. As the sun came out and temp started rising, the white blanket began melting. Our power was back on Wed. P.M. We were without power for 108 hours.

The time I was off (Mon-Thurs) I was paid "snow days" by my doctors. Hubby was off until Wednesday night, taking vacation days for Monday and Tuesday nights.


The weather-front began in Florida leaving flood and wind damage in its wake. It moved up into the deep south, bearing northeast, becoming snow in Alabama somewhere between Montgomery and Birmingham. Then it traveled all the way up the east coast and exited the "Down East" area, back to the sea. It's duration was almost one full week.

Apr '93 Entry: This was a "once in a hundred years" storm, they say. It's been labeled the Super Storm of the Century by the meteorologists. On the same date, March 12, but 105yrs earlier, there was another snow event... "The Great Blizzard of '88".

While it was hard on many, we all talk about our encounters with the Blizzard of '93, how people helped people, and whether we all liked it or not the strange and wild visitor from the north was here... and lots of us enjoyed it!

The following winter: ... we installed gas logs  :)


ADDENDUM: 1/27/2000
The Storm's History
Courtesy the Weather Channel website:
www.weather.com


Top Ten Super Storms of the Century:
  1. 1935 Labor Day Hurricane
  2. 1974 Tornado Super Outbreak
  3. 1993 Superstorm
  4. 1900 Galveston Hurricane
  5. 1938 "Great New England" Hurricane
  6. Hurricane Camille
  7. 1925 "Tri-State" Tornado
  8. "Great Appalachian" Storm
  9. "Ash Wednesday" Storm
  10. Hurricanes Agnes and Andrew


1993 Superstorm:

Part 1 -by Kelli Miller, weather.com

You can't say we weren't warned! In early March 1993, forecasters around the country looked at their weather maps in disbelief as thoughts of an early spring suddenly reverted to the worst winter had to offer. Their warnings went out early and in full-force - "an enormous storm will affect much of the East Coast."

We had days to prepare. In spite of the warnings, many were astonished by the intensity of weather conditions that ultimately plagued much of the eastern third of the United States.

The storm smothered the South with more snow than even New England could handle.

But it didn't stop there. From blizzards to tornadoes, torrential rains and treacherous winds, the March 1993 Superstorm delivered it all, with incredible fury.

It was late in the evening on Friday, March 12, 1993, when this storm - one of the largest and most intense storms on record - began to grip the eastern third of the United States. (c)Accuweather.com The ensuing blizzard crippled much of the eastern third of the country, from Alabama to New England, with record cold, snow, and wind gusts well in excess of hurricane force. "In the Southeast, there was more snow than a lot of people had seen in their entire lifetime," said Paul Kocin, Winter Weather Expert at The Weather Channel. Record snowfalls paralyzed Georgia, Tennessee, and the Appalachians.

At the height of the storm, more than 200 hikers had to be rescued from North Carolina and Tennessee mountains. More than four and a half feet of snow fell on Mount LeConte, Tennessee.

Winds pushed snowdrifts ten to fourteen feet high in Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

(c)NOAA "The storm was so intense and widespread there were actually seven states that saw more than 40 inches of snow in certain locations," said Kocin.

As the blizzard raced through up the eastern seaboard, it produced widespread whiteout conditions, or zero visibility due to falling or blowing snow.

States up and down the eastern seaboard declared disaster emergencies.

All means of modern transportation were essentially paralyzed.

Interstate highways from Atlanta northward were shut down.

Secondary roads were completely impassable.

For the first time, every single major airport on the East Coast had to close at one time or another because of the storm. The airport in Asheville, N.C., remained closed for three days. An estimated 25 percent of the nation's airline flights were cancelled.

The severe cold following the three-day storm preserved so much of the snow it prolonged the colossal travel nightmares, especially in the South where most roads could not be plowed.

The combined effects of high winds and heavy wet snow downed thousands of miles of power lines leaving millions of customers in the dark for up to a week.

The weight of the snow caused hundreds of roof collapses.

Today, the March 1993 Super Storm is listed among the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Top Billion Dollar Weather Disasters. The storm wreaked about $3 billion in damage, killing an estimated 270 people.

According to The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) that death toll is more than three times the combined number of deaths attributed to Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew.



Part 2 - More Than Just Snow

As the March 1993 Super Storm sped north through the eastern United States, it delivered a devastating mix of weather events. Torrential downpours and several tornadoes battered Florida.

Temperatures dipped to a record low 25 degrees in Pensacola; 31 degrees in Daytona Beach.

Ferocious winds pounded the entire East Coast from the shore to hundreds of miles inland, whipping sand from the beaches at an alarming rate, causing widespread erosion.

In Vero Beach, Florida, winds gusted to hurricane force. Ocean waves towered high enough to scare off the most adventurous surfers. Floodwaters raced into the streets as if someone unplugged a dam.

"And last, but not least, there was a storm surge of deadly and unexpected magnitude on the Gulf Coast of Florida," said Stu Ostro, Senior Weather Specialist at The Weather Channel.

On Florida's Gulf Coast, from the vicinity of Apalachicola to south of Tampa, sea levels rose six to twelve feet. The wind-driven storm surge swept 11 people to their death. The flooding that occurred in Florida caught many off guard.

Forecasters expected the storm to focus along the East Coast from the Carolinas to New England.

But the storm's intensification occurred much farther south.

"What really set this storm apart and caused the magnitude of all the impacts across the Southeast was the extraordinary intensification early in its life over the Gulf of Mexico," said Ostro.

"That was unprecedented as far as we know in this century for a non-tropical system."

Tornadoes added further punishment to the already storm-ravaged state. A confirmed 11 twisters touched down across Florida, killing four people and injuring many others. The tornadoes, combined with damaging straight line winds from the parent severe thunderstorms, and the massive storm surge along the west coast, inflicted millions of dollars in property damage.

The Superstorm wreaked so much havoc on the Sunshine State, it turned out to be one of the costliest non-tropical weather events in Florida's history.
©weather.com


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