'Blizzard the Century\r'

' rashs, the most dangerous of al together winter set upons argon characterized by 20 degrees Fahrenheit(postnominal) and vagabonds of at least 35 miles per hr. Along with depressed temperatures and wind, bump thrusts too bring in dull bdepression (Blizzards, 1999). The second calendar week of smother district 1993 is a prodigious date in the history of the east join States because it is the day when it was struck by one of the most wild efflorescences ever kn give. Record dispirited coerces, wind speeds, impression temperatures and play false ensconce amounts guaranteed that this act would win the form of address â€Å" storm of the ascorbic acid” even epoch it lasted.Later, it came to be referred to as â€Å"Super combat 93” or â€Å"The 1993 Super beset” (Wend grease, 1993). This was a advancedly devastative rage that killed oer 250 concourse and resulted in the canceling of almost 25% of the join States f swingings for two days. It simultaneously affected the lives of 130,000,000 slew in the United States. While it whitethorn not be the worst storm ever, it did affect a large surface area. On the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale it would concur been a category 3. The storm affected 26 body politics and 50% of the US population. Formation:From butt 12th to the 15th, 1993, the skin rash of the nose candy caused huge injury to the Easter United States. According to com postureerized information from the National Weather Service, an in tense winter storm was beginning to form and twist significantly in the Gulf of Mexico. It was found that the storm was the prohibitedcome of three different atmospheric disturbances: a major cluster of thunderstorms in the Gulf of Mexico, a band of degree Celsius and rain from the Pacific, and gusty winds with cleared snow from the Arctic Circle (Sander and Conner, two hundred6). Weather forecasters set forth the phenomenon as a â€Å"disorganized area of low pres sure”.As they observed it besidely, they predicted that a terrible storm can bubble up from the Gulf of Mexico, if the low pressure area happens to meet unwarmeder demarcation everyplace the northern areas of the United States. This happened very soon. The low pressure area was met by an arctic high pressure g all oernance in the Midwestern Great Plains, brought into the mid-latitudes by an outstandingly steep atomic number 16ward jet stream. When the muscular high-pressure system entered the Great Plains through the unusually southward polar jet stream, the cold bear moved into the eastern part of the United States inbredly.Because of this temperatures dropped to downstairs freezing point of water and snow fall occurred. A cyclonic low pressure system that happened to be spinning flat to the south of Nova Scotia added to the low temperatures and nose candy and this set the stage for the truly direful storm. By Thursday, troop 12th, the storm became very reco gnizable on the Florida soaring due to its high winds, tornadoes and a storm surge twelve feet above usual. The adjoining day, the storm moved across the southeastern states, exit destruction and total chaos all on its path and paralyzing Eastern Kentucky (Sander and Conner, 2006).Description: The storm caused wide and alter effect across the nations. thither were thunderstorms in Texas. Usually, Texas has just rain and not much snow. The roseola of 1993 brought to Texas in surround, a lot of snow fall. In the state of Florida the barometric pressure dropped to show lows, and as the thunderstorms move across the state, eleven tornadoes claimed seven lives. A barmy snowfall began over upstate brisk York and modern England amid 6:00 and 7:00 am Saturday, troop 13. This increased in intensity and soon the snowstorm raced through the Mid Atlantic states. play falseflakes the size of a person’s fist was inform for a time with the passage of one of the thunder sno w bands at Bridgeport, CT (UCAR, 2006). Due to the combination of heavy snow and high winds, there was zero visibleness at most places. stark naked York and the six naked as a jaybird England States all declared disaster emergencies during the height of the storm. n proto(prenominal) of the major roads were closed to hold up and these include the labor unionway, I-88, Thruway, and Massachusetts turnpike. Secondary roads were already impede by snow.Almost all aerodromes were shut down. Snow piled up to render levels for umpteen cities in the Northeast (UCAR, 2006). refer of the Blizzard: The roseola of 1993 was one that broke many designates in the history of Kentucky, through the amount of snowfall and size. The travel department was the most affected and over 4,000 motorists were stranded. To cope with this crisis situation, emergency shelters were set up over much of Eastern Kentucky. blue school gyms and semi saloonlic facilities were opened up for stranded bulk to quiescence in.The National condom was brought in for their services in order to clear roads, and to open twenty armories as additional shelters for motorists. There needed to be nimble disaster relief. Public Works met this challenge by plowing and removing snow, salting s headts and checking for icy conditions (PPW, 2006). Crews worked around the time to restore safe driving conditions, and Pittsburgh streets quickly returned to normal (PPW, 2006). Record low temperatures were predominant in the land area galloping from the Gulf Coast to Maine. any major airport along the east microscope slide was forced to close.Homes also unload into the sea or certain damage by wind or waves on the west coast of Florida, along the outer(prenominal) banks of North Carolina, and on Long Island. Fallen tree limbs and power lines left 3 million mountain along the storm’s path in the blasphemous (Sherman, 2006). The blizzard caused dramatic weather changes in many places such a s Birmingham, Alabama, Atlanta, Georgia, and Chattanooga, Tennessee which were buried by paralyzing snows and frozen by unseasonable cold. The strict cold following the storm preserved much of the snow, prolonging travel nightmares for a couple days over the south where most roads were never plowed.The combined do of high wind and heavy wet snow downed thousands of miles of power lines leaving millions of great deal in the dark for up to a week in somewhat cases over the south. Tornadoes struck Tennessee and Ohio valleys, as well as the Appalachians on Friday night defect 12 (UCAR, 2006). The tornadoes along with highly powerful straight line winds from the mention severe thunderstorms, and the massive storm surge along the west coast, inflicted millions of dollars in property damage. During the upside of the storm, virtually 1/3 of the country was simultaneously cosmos affected by harsh winter weather.Insurance claims from Texas to Maine tallied damage estimates in the ca rdinals of dollars. The toll in human deportment was extensive. Approximately 285 fatalities nationwide can be directly attributed to the storm. The psychological pretend in the Southern states, where clean high temperatures in March tend to examination into the 60s Fahrenheit, was magnified by the fact that it struck a week in the first place spring. A NASCAR event at Atlanta Motor Speedway had to be postponed a week due to the storm. Many factory roofs collapsed due to angle of the snow.Snowdrifts on the leeward sides of buildings resulted in the fall of gravely anchored decks in houses. Many people had to be reclaimed from the Appalachians and many of them were on the Appalachian trail, or visit cabins and lodges in remote locales. Boone, North Carolina was surprised by 24 mos of sub zero temperatures along with storm winds, which gusted as high as 110 miles per hour. electrical energy was not restored to many isolated rural areas for a week or more. Farther to the Sout h, numerous A-one cells developed over the state of Florida, leading tornadoes and lightning strikes. regard info:This blizzard was the largest in harm of the area it affected. More than half of the countrys population in cardinal different states was affected by the blizzard of 1993. 44 deaths in Florida were attributed either to the tornadoes or other severe weather (Lott, 1993). During the storm, school activities and government services in 30 counties were affected. In fact 73 out of Kentuckys 120 counties were found to be eligible for reimbursement for the toll of emergency snow removal. The massive March 1993 blizzard killed five people in Kentucky and over 270 people nationwide (Lott, 1993).The damage costs overtakeed 1. 6 million dollars. Hence, the blizzard of 1993 became the fourth costliest storm in U. S. history. At least 18 homes fell into the sea on Long Island due to the pounding surf. About 200 homes along North Carolinas Outer Banks were damaged and may be uninhabitable. Over 160 people were reclaimed at sea by the Coast Guard in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic. At least 1 freighter sank in the Gulf of Mexico (Lott, 1993). Scientific Data: The storm stretched from Canada to Central America. But the main impact was felt in the Eastern United States and Cuba.Areas as far south as Atlanta, Georgia received 5 to 50 inches (13 to 130 cm) of snow, accompanied by hurricane-force wind gusts and script low barometric pressures. front to the storm, the record for a single days snowfall had been 18 inches in Kentucky. This snowfall covered most of Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky with nearly 30 inches of snow. London, Kentucky thrifty a depth of 22 inches, while Jackson and Closplint two had 20 inches of snow on the ground. The maximum snowfall was measured at Perry County †30 inches.Powerful winds raged across Kentucky blockade any kind of relief effort put up by people. Winds up to 43 miles per hour were recorded in Pike Co. , and a 30- miles per hour get dressed blew over much of the state. The heavy snows, coupled with high winds created large snow drifts †8-10 feet in many places such as Pikeville and London †over roads and highways. I-75 from Lexington to the Tennessee border was shut down for two days, as was I-64 from Lexington eastward. entirely state and federal highways south of I-64 and east of I-75 were also closed.The maximum snow depth recorded from the blizzard was 56 inches on Mt. Leconte in Tennessee. Millions of people woke up to snowfalls as deep and frequently deeper than 3 feet (1 meter), and in places high winds had heaped drifts to depths of 30 feet (9. 5 meters). It was later measured that the snowfall put down by the storm was nearly 12. 91 blocky miles (53. 96 cubic kilometers). As the storm moved northward, it became stronger and stronger and caused severe drops in pressure. The barometric pressure in parts of tonic England dropped to record low levels †28. 35 inc hes Hg (960 mb).Such low reading is usually seen only in the centers of inordinately strong hurricanes. Across may parts of invigorated England, temperatures on the worst blizzard day (March 13, 1993) failed to exceed 14°F (-10°C), which was a unusual phenomenon in this region. Birmingham recorded a record low of 2 degrees Fahrenheit during the storm. Fifteen tornadoes in Florida killed 44 while 6 inches of snow fell on the Florida Panhandle. be on LeConte in Tennessee received 56 inches of snow. 43 inches fell at Syracuse, NY, 27 in Albany, NY, 20 inches at Chattanooga, TN, 16 in Roanoke, VA.Winds over 100 were describe on the Dry Tortugas (west of Key West, FL), in North Carolina on Flattop Mountain while winds over hurricane force were reported from atomic number 57 and Florida to New York and New England (Sherman, 2006). The storm also set records for snowfall in places such as Birmingham, Alabama, where 33 centimeters fell, and Cooperstown, New York, which had 71 cent imeters. Powerful winds that were stronger than many hurricane forces smashed the gulf coast, Appalachians, and eastern seaboard. Equipment on oil drilling platforms off the Louisiana coast measured the wind power as close to 99 mph on Friday evening, March 12.Winds estimated up to120 mph blasted the Florida west coast early Saturday, March 13, producing a six to ten foot storm surge. Winds up to 100 mph were measured over the mountains of North Carolina Saturday afternoon, March 13. And, 81 mph winds measured at Bostons Logan International airport Saturday evening, March 13, closed the facility and aided in the shut down of the urban center. Snowfall Records: The incredible entropy can be summarized as follows (UCAR, 2006): • 35. 6 inches of snow in twenty four hours (10am Saturday †10am Sunday. ) The previous record was 27. 2 inches set in January 1925.• 22. 1 inches of snow on Saturday, March 13, severance the old snowfall record for that date which was 4. 1 i nches set in 1961. • 19. 9 inches of snow on Sunday, March 14, breaking the old snowfall record for that date which was 8. 6 inches set in 1956. • Seasonal snowfall by March 14 measured 174. 8 inches reservation the 1992-93 season the snowiest on record, breaking the old record of 166. 9 inches set in the winter of 1991-92 • March snowfall totaled 49. 3 inches as of March 14 making March 1993 the snowiest on record at Syracuse breaking the old record of 41.4 inches set in 1932. Thunderstorms and Lightning: On Saturday morning, March 13, 1993, people in the Eastern United States heard the enraged sound of strong wind and the crashing sounds of thunder. They could see flashes of light amidst heavy blowing snow. They were perplexed. How could there be thunder and lightning in the middle of a blizzard. Although it is an unusual occurrence, thunderstorms can postdate a snowstorm. This weather phenomenon is known as thundersnow. Snow falls are scramd when warm rising dampish air meets too cold air close to the earth’s surface.Most snowstorms do not produce thunder and lightning because the dynamics in the atmosphere are not unstable enough to create this elicit phenomenon. Only an extremely powerful winter storm system, if accompanied by intensely cold air in the upper regions of the troposphere, can produce thundersnow. The blizzard of 1993 also produced an unusually large number of lightning flashes †up to 5000 an hour. Richard Orville, of Texas A & M University, has studied this blizzard lightning (Orville, 1993)), examining data from a network of magnetic management finders.These devices were used to record the characteristics of lightning flashes from cloud to ground across the US. Each of the flashes recorded in Orvilles survey was reported by at least two steering finders within 600 kilometers of the flash. At this range, the detectors can distinguish surrounded by flashes carrying negative stir downwards, which acco unts for most of them, and those carrying positive charge downwards which produce the remaining 13 per cent. There was maximum lightning near Florida, probably because of the warmth of the water of the Gulf Stream.Overall, the storm produced 59 000 cloud-to-ground flashes, with a peak of 5100 flashes an hour and a maximum density of strikes of 0. 16 per square kilometer just south of Tampa, Florida. Orville in the New Scientist, dated 11 September 1993 tell: â€Å"The reasons for the high flash rates [and] the apparent rapid cessation of cloud-to-ground lightning as the storm propagated north of the Carolinas is compose to be determined. ” Subtropical Derecho: In addition to the blizzard, a serial derecho occurred in the U. S. state of Florida on March 12 and 13, 1993.The derecho moved into Florida and Cuba around midnight on March 13 and moved out of Cuba just before sunrise. During its stay, the derecho resulted in ten tornadoes one of which killed three people when it struck a home. In Cuba wind gusts ranged between 100 to 130 mph according to a research team from the Institute of Meteorology of Cuba. The derecho resulted in 10 deaths in Cuba and caused US$1 billion in damage in Cuba alone (Wikipedia, 2006). The homosexual Angle: Media reporting on the Blizzard of 1993 have helped to keep the memories of that historical day alive.â€Å"… The Blizzard of 93 is about to commence … All preparations should have been made … I wonder what the forecaster who sat here one hundred five years ago today [was thinking]. ” †Warren Snyder, sr. Forecaster for the National Weather Service self-assurance in Albany, New York typed these words in his early morning state forecast discussion on March 13, 1993 (Smith, 2006). Eric Thomas on WBTV-Charlotte declared that â€Å"… this may not be just the storm of the century… but the strongest storm in the history of mankind.” The New York Times reported: â€Å"The Bli zzard of 1993 became a blizzard in the metropolitan region during a three-hour stretch at midday yesterday when visibility dropped downstairs a quarter of a mile from falling and blowing snow and winds blew at least 35 miles an hour” (NYT, 1993) Apart from media reporting, citizens have also shared their experiences on that historic day. Emily Flowers remembers marching in the St. Patricks parade of 1993 with the Brashear High School marching band. She recollects that there was really no one to witness the parade and the marchers were covered in snow by parades end.She was then stuck up at her boyfriend’s house for three days. terrycloth Griffith recollects that on that stormy day, â€Å"the busses and streetcars halt running. The taxi cabs stopped service. The parkway and all ways out of the city were closed. All the hotels were booked and if you were still downtown by 4 pm you were really stuck” (Griffith, 2006). Conclusion: The Blizzard of 1993 was truly th e set upon of the Century in terms of its intensity, area covered and record snowfalls. Such natural disasters as the blizzard of 1993 awaken man to his own vulnerability in the face of nature’s immense powers.These disasters also enable the growth of erudition and help in bringing mankind together to study, understand and learn coping strategies for the future. Bibliography: Lott, Neal (1993). The Big ace! A Review of the March 12-14, 1993 â€Å"Storm of the Century”. National Climatic Data Center: search Customer Service Group. May 14, 1993. ftp://ftp. ncdc. noaa. gov/pub/data/techrpts/tr9301/tr9301. pdf PPW (2006). Blizzard of 1993. Pittsburgh Public Works. http://www. city. pittsburgh. pa. us/pw/hypertext markup language/blizzard_of_1993. hypertext markup language Griffith, Terry (2006). The Pittsburgh St.Patricks Day Parade remembers the blizzard of 1993. http://www. pittsburghirish. org/parade/Blizzard/index. htm. Orville, E. Richard (1993). Cloud-to-ground l ightening in the blizzard of 1993. Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 20, Issue 13, p. 1367-1370. http://adsabs. harvard. edu/abs/1993GeoRL.. 20. 1367O Sander, David and Conner, Glen (2006). position Sheet: Blizzard of 1993. http://kyclim. wku. edu/factSheets/blizzard. htm Wendland, Wayne. Weather and Climate Impacts in the Midwest. March 1993: Midwestern Climate Center. Vol. III, No. 4. â€Å"Blizzards”. http://www. weather.com/breaking_weather/cyclopedia/winter/blizzard. html. (October 21, 1999). Sherman (2006). Storm of the Century. http://snrs. unl. edu/amet498/sherman/blizzard93. html UCAR (2006). The Blizzard of 93. http://eo. ucar. edu/webweather/blizzardstory. html NYT (1993). THE BLIZZARD OF 93; It Was, Indeed, Blizzard of 93. http://query. nytimes. com/gst/fullpage. html? res=9F0CE3D81F39F937A25750C0A965958260 Smith, Tony (2006). Storm of the Century. http://www. valdostamuseum. org/hamsmith/thunderflood. html#blizzard Wikipedia (2006). 1993 North American Storm Complex. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/The\r\n'