COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)–Thirty years ago, a great blizzard in the middle of March enveloped the Eastern Seaboard, as snow pivoted west over Ohio.
The Blizzard of ’93, referred to as the “Storm of the Century” along the Eastern Seaboard produced prodigious snowfalls, accompanied by hurricane-force winds gusts and bitter cold, which shut down transportation and closed schools for days.
A storm that was initially supposed to brush central Ohio with several inches of snow and strong winds was so mammoth in scope that heavy snow bands, with high winds, expanded across the eastern half of Ohio on Saturday afternoon, March 13, 1993.
Four inches of snow blanketed parts of the Florida Panhandle, as the storm developed in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico on, March 12. Eleven tornadoes raked the Florida Peninsula early on the 13th, with winds gusts in excess of 100 mph.
Nearly three feet of snow piled up in the mountains in northern Georgia, and 17 inches fell near Birmingham, Ala., as low pressure intensified rapidly, moving northward along the Atlantic Coast.
Mike Singer trys his hand at cross country skiing at the Sheep Meadow in Central Park 14 March 1993. The park measured a record snow fall of 10 inches after the 13 March blizzard. (Photo by JOHN MOTTERN / AFP) (Photo by JOHN MOTTERN/AFP via Getty Images) 
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES: A pizza delivery man shields himself from the blizzard conditions pounding New York City and most of the east coast of the U.S. as he waits to cross second Avenue 13 March 1993. New York City is expected to get up to two feet of snow in one of the worst snow storms in a decade. (Photo credit should read TIM CLARY/AFP via Getty Images) 
A formaly dressed Jeffrey Resto shovels snow outside a theater in New York Times Square Saturday evening,March 13, 1993 as the city continued to be effected by the winter storm that brought New York City to a virtual standstill. (AP Photo/Paul Hurschmann) 
An unidentified pedestrian, braving a fierce storm that dumped nearly a foot of snow on the metropolitan area, pauses to look at a city snowperson–a rare sight on the streets of midtown New York on Broadway and 53rd Street on March 13, 1993. (AP Photo/Shirley Barenholz) 
A new York City taxi driver tries to free his cab from snow piled up by street plows early Sunday morning March 15, 1993, in lower Manhattan, after a winter storm hit the metropolitan area Saturday. About 10 inches of snow plus rain and sleet combined with high winds and low temperatures with the occasional thunder and lightning complicated coping with the major storm. (AP Photo/Mike Albans) 
A motorist makes an early exit after losing control of his vehicle, which slid off the road on Interstate 20 East during a blizzard in Atlanta, Saturday, March 13, 1993. The area was battered by the major storm which caused power outages and snarling traffic. (AP Photo/Curtis Compton) 
Howard Truss, left, leaves his beach house with John Burgess in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, March 13, 1993, in search of higher ground to wait out Saturday’s winter storm. Howard and his family will be staying with the Burgess’ household while they ride the storm out. (AP Photo/Janet Durrans) 
Melissa Day, age 12, from Panama City, Fla., is shown during the blizzard in Washington, March 13, 1993. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) 
A fire truck from New York’s Ladder Company 50, with lights flashing, drives past the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Vista Hotel during a fierce winter storm in New York, March 13, 1993. The blizzard conditions prompted closing of all the area airports and the National Weather Service issued coastal flood warnings. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) 
A truck driver tosses a box over a mound of ice and snow to a waiting helper as he makes deliveries in New York Monday morning, March 15, 1993. Cities along the East Coast continue to dig out from the weekend’s blizzard. (AP Photo/Justine Sutcliffe) 
Fernando Aguilan, left, gets some help from his son, Marco as they move a block of ice from in front of his taxi in Astoria, Queens, March 15, 1993. Many of the city’s forms of transportation were finding their way back in service as clean-up continues from the weekend storm which brought many of the public transportation services to a halt. (AP Photo/Ed Bailey) 
A woman pushes a toddler in a stroller through ankle-deep water collected from melting snow in the Union Square area of New York City, March 16, 1993. Workers chopping ice and shoveling snow took over blizzard cleanup at street corners and catch basins where mechanized muscle can’t do the job. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) 
Allen and Lauren Haywood, top, both of Washington, slide down the snow-covered grounds of he Capitol, March 14, 1993. At right is Aubrey Parsons of Washington. A severe winter storm dumped nearly a foot of snow in the nation’s capital over the weekend. (AP Photo/Mark Wilson) 
An unidentified cross-country skier plants his poles as a pedestrian covers her face as she crosses New York’s Fifth Avenue during a ferocious blizzard, March 13, 1993. Extremely high winds and dense snow are causing hazardous driving and all area airports remain closed. (AP Photo/David Karp) 
A pedestrian walks through the snow to the Capitol complex near the downtown interstate highway connector, March 13, 1993, in Atlanta, Ga. Signs to I-75 and I-85 were knocked down in the windy snowstorm that hit the area. The gold dome of the Capitol is at top center. (AP Photo/Curtis Compton) 
A lone skier crosses the Mall in front of the Washington Monument, March 14, 1993. Much of downtown Washington was deserted Sunday morning as they city began to recover from one of the biggest winter storms in recent years. (AP Photo/Doug Mills) 
Ling Kim makes his way across Washington Street as a truck slowly approaches during the winter storm in New York, March 13, 1993. Few braved the wind-driven snowstorm that closed all three major airports and called for the evacuation of residents in low-lying areas of Long Island. (AP Photo/Robert Clark) 
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 13: Frank and Cindy Bartosik of Newark, Delaware walk through Lafayette Park, in front of the White House 13 March 1993 during Washington’s worst snow storm of the season. (Photo credit should read ROBERT GIROUX/AFP via Getty Images)
Light snow began falling on Friday evening, Mar. 12, across the Buckeye State. Snowfall rates increased Saturday afternoon across central and eastern Ohio. Columbus received 5 inches of snow, accompanied by wind gusts reaching 41 mph, and up to 50 mph in the eastern counties, creating blizzard conditions.
The snow dpeth reached 20 inches at Newport in Washington County, and 19.5 inches at Marietta, in southeastern Ohio. On the West Virginia side of the Ohio River, National Weather Service offices at Parkersburg (20.3 inches) and Huntington (22.6 inches) had historic snowfalls. (The previous heaviest snowfall at Huntington, W.V. was 20.9 inches on Nov. 24-29, 1950.)
The top snowfall was 56 inches at Mount Le Conte, Tennessee. Pittsburgh was buried under 25.2 inches of snow, and three to four feet fell in the highest elevations of the Appalachians.
A mid-March cold wave followed the storm, with readings plunging into the single digits on the mornings of March 14-15, with a few locations in northern Ohio dipping below zero.
