March 1993 Blizzard Memories: James Spann
Twenty-five years ago today, I was forecasting a storm of historic proportions. The morning forecast I prepared on Friday, March 12, 1993 was for 8 inches of snow for Birmingham, something that was impossible to believe for most Alabamians with temperatures that week in the 70s.
As it turned out, the forecast was not aggressive enough. The great Blizzard of 93 dropped 13 inches at the Birmingham International Airport, where the records are kept, and almost two feet of snow across parts of southern Jefferson and northern Shelby counties. We measured a wind gust to hurricane force atop Red Mountain, where I was working at the time, and observed thunder and lightning while the heavy snow was falling. The heaviest snow across the Southeast U.S. was recorded was at Newfound Gap, where U.S. 441 crosses the Tennessee and North Carolina border, with five feet.
I have recorded the following video for our partners over at the Alabama News Center. Enjoy.
Category: ALL POSTS, Met 101/Weather History
About the Author (Author Profile)
Bill Murray is the President of The Weather Factory. He is the site's official weather historian and a weekend forecaster. He also anchors the site's severe weather coverage. Bill Murray is the proud holder of National Weather Association Digital Seal #0001 @wxhistorianSubscribe
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