This week (March 2013) marks the 20th anniversary of the “Storm of the Century” the Blizzard of 1993. Anyone that was in the High Country during that time, or the East Coast for the matter, has a story to tell.

Snowfall totals ranged from 3 inches in Alabama to 54 inches in Snowshoe WVa, with 33 inches reported in Boone.

Some of the notable items surrounding that storm:

Helicopters delivered food/medicine/supplies to those in the county that were buried by the snow, including feed to cattle.

Snow drifts of 8 to 21 feet were reported

Most, if not all, of the area roads were blocked leaving motorists stranded. Snow equipment from area ski resorts were used in trying to rescue those stranded. Statewide an estimated 300,000 homes were left without power and over 160 thousand people were reported to be snowbound by the storm.

Wind chill values colder than minus 20 degrees were recorded in the mountains on March 13th & 14th, per the NC State Climate office.

Governor Jim Hunt declared 25 western counties and 15 eastern counties disaster areas. Watauga & Ashe counties suffered less that $500 thousand of property damage according to a report by the State Climate Office.

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Photo courtesy of Joe Quinn. "Our kids and buried car on Doe Ridge above Howard's Creek"

NOAA Satellite Captures “The Storm of the Century”

Related Articles

NOAA report Remembering the Storm of the Century 20 Years Later

Mountain Times article from 2010

Wikipedia post

North Carolina State Climate Office article