Monday Marks 25 Years Since Blizzard Of ’93

Fitting that snow fell Monday across Tennessee as March 12 marks the 25th anniversary of the Great Blizzard of 1993.

Nashville and areas of middle Tennessee received just a couple of inches. However, the storm gained strength, it walloped eastern portions of the state with snow and winds in excess of 30mph. Those winds drove temperatures into the teens across the region with wind chills below zero.

Cookeville’s Weather Guy Michael Detweiller said the storm has become a part of local legend.

“Today as we look back on it, you’ll ask people about it and they say ‘we had a foot and a half here,'” Detweiller said. “No, that’s not true. We had about seven inches was the official measurement. But you go to Jamestown though and the official measurement was 20 inches.”

In that way, the Blizzard of ’93 appears consistent with most snowstorms that hit the Upper Cumberland. How much you get depends on where you sit.

During the March 12-March 13 period, Crossville recorded 20 inches, Allardt 16 and Monterey 14 inches. Gainesboro and Livingston each received about seven inches.

The totals increased as you moved into east Tennessee. 20-plus inches fell in Chattanooga. Knoxville and Tri Cities recorded 14 inches. Mount Leconte in the Great Smokies recorded 60 inches of snowfall over the two days.

Detweiller said a friend had to be rescued from cabins in Gatlinburg during the storm. The group ran out of wood and food before the National Guard found them.

“It’s funny because he said ‘these things never hit Tennessee,'” Detweiller said.

The Blizzard of ’93 killed 14 people in Tennessee. Its impact crippled the Atlantic Coast states leaving more than 10 million people without power. At one point, the snow left every airport on the east coast closed. More than 300 people died nationwide.