Superstorm of 1993 (Storm of the Century)
Registering as a Cat 5 storm for the Northeast, Southeast and Ohio Valley Regions, this is one of the most devastating storms of the 20th century. It wrecked havoc on the eastern third of the country with record snowfall and deadly tornadoes. It covered one of the largest areas ever recorded in snow affecting over 100 million people and causing billions of dollars in damage. The heaviest snow fell from the southern Appalachians to the Canadian border with some locations reporting over 40 inches. Along the eastern seaboard the totals ranged from 6 to 15 inches. The greatest snow report came from Mt. Leconte in Smoky Mountain National Park, TN where 5 feet of snow buried the mountain. In Syracuse, NY, 35.4 inches fell in 24 hours setting the all time 24hour snowfall record. The storm is attributed with the largest interruption of air travel due to weather in the United States. In Florida the storm packed hurricane conditions with a massive storm surge that swept houses out to sea and produced over 27 tornadoes. (Kocin and Uccellini)
The storm by region
Each region’s thresholds are its own, so the same depth of snow counts for more in the South than in the Northeast.
| Region | Index | Category | Area with snow (sq mi) | People under snow | Above the top threshold (sq mi) | People above it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Valley | 24.63 | Category 5, Extreme | 170,423 | 27,255,010 | 35,172 | 2,788,260 |
| Southeast | 24.43 | Category 5, Extreme | 206,576 | 34,618,530 | 28,830 | 3,448,690 |
| Northeast | 22.12 | Category 5, Extreme | 174,949 | 58,912,681 | 3,574 | 729,753 |
| South | 0.30 | Below category 1 | 61,917 | 4,660,063 | 0 | 0 |
The Regional Snowfall Index is NOAA’s ranking of snowstorms east of the Rockies by how much snow fell, over how wide an area and on how many people, region by region: the area and the population above four snowfall thresholds set for each region, weighted against that region’s own history. A storm is scored in each region it reached, on a scale from 1, notable, to 5, extreme.
In the Storm Events record
The Storm Events Database holds winter weather only from 1996, so this storm has no episodes there.
More
The snowstorm of February 23 to 27, 1993The snowstorm of November 21 to 29, 1993Snow nowEvery winter storm filed
Sources
NOAA NCEI Regional Snowfall Index, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.