Sunday, March 17, 2013

NOAA satellite captures "The Storm of the Century"



From NOAA

What started out as an area of low pressure off the coast of Texas on March 12, 1993 quickly developed into what many people refer to as "The Storm of the Century".
The evolution of this winter superstorm can be seen in this imagery from the GOES-7 satellite, using both visible and colorized infrared data.
As the storm developed in the Deep South, it spawned 11 tornadoes in Florida and dumped from 8 to 33 inches of snow from Alabama to the Carolinas.
As the storm moved north and intensified, conditions became even worse.
With a central pressure of 960 millibars, usually found only in Category 2 hurricanes, whiteout conditions were common.
Snowfall exceeded 3.5 feet in some locations.

When the storm passed, 208 people were dead and $6.6 billion dollars in damage were sustained.
The National Climatic Data Center still ranks the 1993 as the most impactful winter storm to hit the Northeast.
Though the 1978 and 1996 blizzards may have brought more intense localized conditions, the scale of the 1996 storm has not been equaled in recent history.

Links :
  • NOAA : storm archive description of the 1993 Storm of the Century

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