A squall line developed along the system's cold front, which moved rapidly across the eastern Gulf of Mexico through Florida and Cuba. Īs the area of low pressure moved through the central Gulf of Mexico, a short wave trough in the northern branch of the jet stream fused with the system in the southern stream, which further strengthened the surface low. Intense ageostrophic flow was noted over the southern United States, with winds flowing perpendicular to isobars over Louisiana. Furthermore, the subtropical jet stream was displaced unusually far south, reaching into the Pacific Ocean near Central America and extending toward Honduras and Jamaica. A powerful low-level jet over eastern Cuba and the Gulf of Mexico enhanced a cold front extending from the low southward to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The system's central pressure fell to 991 mbar (29.26 inHg) by 00:00 UTC on March 13. Supported by a strong split-polar jet stream and a shortwave trough, the nascent system rapidly deepened. An initial burst of convective precipitation off the southern coast of Texas (facilitated by the transport of tropical moisture into the region) enabled initial intensification of the surface feature on March 12. By the afternoon of March 12, a defined airmass boundary was present along the deepening low. Concurrently, an extratropical area of low pressure formed over Mexico along a stationary front draped west to east. ĭuring March 11 and 12, 1993, temperatures over much of the eastern United States began to drop as an arctic high pressure system built over the Midwestern United States and the Great Plains. The eruption, while not directly responsible, may have played a part in the formation of the 1993 Storm of the Century. The stratospheric cloud from the eruption persisted in the atmosphere for three years. The temperature in the stratosphere rose to several degrees higher than normal, due to the absorption of radiation by the aerosol. Meteorological history A satellite image of the Storm of the Century on March 13, 1993.Ī volcanic winter is thought to have started with the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. The greatest recorded snowfall amounts were at Mount Le Conte in Tennessee, where 56 inches (140 cm) of snow fell, and Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, the tallest mountain in eastern North America, where 50 inches (130 cm) were measured to fall and 15-foot (4.6 m) snow drifts were reported. In all, the storm resulted in 318 deaths, and caused $5.5 billion (1993 USD) in damages. An estimated 40 percent of the country's population experienced the effects of the storm and it led to a total of 208 fatalities. In the United States, the storm was responsible for the loss of electric power to more than 10 million households. Record cold temperatures were seen across portions of the Southern United States and Eastern United States in the wake of this storm. Between Louisiana and Cuba, the hurricane-force winds produced high storm surges across the Big Bend of Florida which, in combination with scattered tornadoes, killed dozens of people. The Florida Panhandle reported up to 4 in (10 cm) of snow, with hurricane-force wind gusts and record low barometric pressures. Birmingham, Alabama, reported a rare 13 in (33 cm) of snow. Heavy snow was first reported in highland areas as far south as Alabama and northern Georgia, with Union County, Georgia reporting up to 35 inches (89 cm) of snow. It eventually dissipated in the North Atlantic Ocean on March 15. The cyclone moved through the Gulf of Mexico and then through the eastern United States before moving on to eastern Canada. The cold weather, heavy snowfall, high winds and storm surges that the storm brought affected a very large area at its height, it stretched from Canada to Honduras. The 1993 Storm of the Century (also known as the 93 Superstorm, The No Name Storm, or the Great Blizzard of '93/1993) was a cyclonic storm that formed over the Gulf of Mexico on March 12, 1993. Part of the 1992–93 North American winter and tornado outbreaks of 1993 Le Conte, TennesseeĮastern United States, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, The Bahamas, Bermuda Satellite image by NASA of the storm on March 13, 1993, at 10:01 UTC.ĥ6 in (140 cm) at Mt.
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