Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 14, 1993 TAG: 9303150537
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From The Associated Press and The New York Times
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
STORM MAY BE WORST OF CENTURY
One of the most powerful storms of the century - a monster with the heart of a blizzard and the soul of a hurricane - bombarded the East Coast on Saturday with record snow - including 14-foot drifts in Virginia - wind over 100 mph and killer tornadoes. At least 29 people died, more than 3 million customers lost power, and thousands of travelers were stranded."This could be the worst storm of the century," the National Weather Service declared in a series of blizzard warnings posted from North Carolina to Maine.
Sixteen of the deaths were in tornado-ravaged Florida, still recovering from Hurricane Andrew last summer. The dead included people killed in the wreckage of mobile homes, men who suffered heart attacks while shoveling snow, and homeless people who died of exposure.
Snow depths by early evening included 2 to 3 feet in western North Carolina; 2 feet in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky; 21 inches in eastern Tennessee; a record 15 at Birmingham, Ala.; and 16 in northern Georgia.
Farther north, 15 inches fell in Philadelphia and 20 elsewhere in Pennsylvania; 10 inches at New York City's Central Park; and 24 inches in parts of New Hampshire.
Shore residents were evacuated from Delaware to Maine.
Four Connecticut men who camped overnight along the state's highest mountain range were rescued Saturday, and 52 college rowers from New England were fished from South Carolina's Lake Marion after the storm swamped their boats. They were there seeking good weather to practice.
At the White House, President Clinton spent part of the morning discussing the federal government's response to the storm. He said Federal Emergency Management Agency officials were in touch with the authorities in every state affected by the storm, which knocked out power to 2 million homes in Florida, 300,000 more in Georgia and an additional 200,000 in Alabama and Tennessee.
"I'm 6-foot-5 and I went outside a little while ago and was up to my knees in snow," said Jeff Higgenbotham in Dalton, Ga. "It's a pretty sight . . . but I'd rather have somebody send me a postcard of it than be in it."
The southernmost part of the storm blacked out Havana, Cuba, according to news reports monitored in Mexico City.
Snow fell over parts of Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle early Saturday. Northern Alabama had snowdrifts up to 6 feet high; eastern Kentucky had 8-foot drifts and drifts up to 14 feet deep were reported in Western Virginia.
"This is like a hurricane with snow," said Devin Dean, a forecaster at the Atmospheric Science Research Center of the State University of New York in Albany.
States of emergency were declared from Florida to Maine.
The storm closed major airports at New York City, Washington, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Atlanta, stopping hundreds of flights. Almost 3,000 people were stranded at New York's major airports, Port Authority officials said.
Snow squalls wrapping around the back of the storm caused 250 flights to be canceled at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, and a 40-car pileup near Detroit. There were no serious injuries.
Most New York City-area commuter trains and buses shut down.
All interstate highways in Pennsylvania were closed, as were major highways in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, New York state and Maine.
"Lots of cars in the ditch, trucks laying over. It's real bad," said truck driver Bruce Kennedy of Stillville, Mo., who stopped at a truck stop in Duncan, S.C., along Interstate 85.
Churches and armories were opened for stranded travelers and for people without heat. Police and National Guardsmen in some states were sent to rescue motorists.
Wind along the North Carolina coast hit 80 mph at midday and ferry service to the Outer Banks was halted. Gusts reached 109 mph in the Dry Tortugas off the Florida Keys and 101 mph at Flattop Mountain in western North Carolina.
\ 1993 BLIZZARD\ STATISTICS\ \ DEATHS: At least 29, including 13 in Florida, where tornadoes struck 15\ counties.\ \ SNOWFALL: 2 to 3 feet in western North Carolina; 24 inches in parts of New Hampshire; 21 inches in parts of Tennessee; 15 inches in Birmingham, Ala.; 13 inches in Cherry Hill, N.J.; 10 inches in New York City's Central Park. Drifts up to 14 feet deep in Western Virginia, 8 feet in eastern Kentucky and 6 feet in northern Alabama.\ WIND: Gusts to 109 mph in the Dry Tortugas, near Key West, Fla.; 101 mph in western North Carolina, and 80 mph along the North Carolina coast. Sustained wind 63 mph just off the New York City coast.\ \ AIRPORTS CLOSED: New York City, Washington, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta; Greenville, S.C.; Manchester, N.H.; Providence, R.I.; Rochester, N.Y.\ \ HIGHWAYS CLOSED: All interstates in Pennsylvania; New York State Thruway from\ New York City area to Rochester; portions of Interstates 24, 40, 64, 65, 68,\ 75, 81, 87, 88 in Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, New York.\
Keywords:
FATALITY