Memories Of The Blizzard

Bill Murray and J.B. Elliott have shared some great memories of the Blizzard of 1993, which was cranking up 14 years ago today (scroll down to read J.B.’s full account of the storm). I had an extremely talented weather team assembled at the time (I learned long ago the secret of success is surrounding yourself with smart people!); Dan Satterfield and Kevin Selle were with me at WBRC in March 1993, and we worked the big storm we will never forget.

The night of Friday, March 13 was a sleepless one for me; I stayed up all night along with Kevin doing weather updates on the storm, which was generating hurricane force gusts atop Red Mountain by 2:00 a.m., along with thunder and lightning. When I heard Bill Castle call in with “white out” conditions in East Lake and Huffman (he was coming back from Center Point, where a automobile dealer showroom roof collapsed due to the weight of the snow), I knew we were in trouble. A little after 2:30 a.m. I was going to open the studio back door, which overlooked the city of Birmingham, to check on the accumulation. I was really disturbed because someone had locked the door; I have never known that door to be locked. As it turned out, the door wasn’t locked; a snow drift literally buried that door and went all the way up to the studio roof. We had a hard time identifying our cars in the parking lot, and the city was impossible to see from the mountain due to the heavy snow. As the sun was coming up, the big storm was beginning to wind down and the realization was setting in that the state was totally shut down, and this was a full blown emergency for some people. Some simply needed a warm shelter, others needed transportation to a hospital. Everyone from the National Guard to citizens with four wheel drive vehicles pitched in; they were a means of survival for many people. Some people had no power for five days in the once in a lifetime storm.

I recall my friend, the late Tommy Charles, staying in Birmingham that weekend (he was scheduled to take some of his radio listeners on a cruise) taking calls on the air and getting help to people who needed it. Who can forget Kevin Selle’s hat that was made famous that weekend. I actually have that hat in my possession today.

I guess my wildest memory was having to fill in for Country Boy Eddie; for the first time in 37 years he could not make it to Red Mountain for his early morning show; I was thankful Bill Bolen sat on the set with me for those two hours on Monday March 16, 1993. I was also thankful I didn’t have to sing or read any of Eddie’s commercials. I am not sure I could have gotten through one of his “Jogging in a Jug” or rabbit nugget endorsements. I also remember ringing his cowbell everytime the temperature rose one degree; we finally climbed above freezing around 9:00 that Monday morning.

I wonder what our next big Alabama weather memory will be?

See pictures and read stories from our viewers here (this collection was compiled several years ago, but still fascinating!)

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