Blizzards and the ‘Storm of the Century’

Although the origin of the word “blizzard” is obscure, the term appeared in the United States 135 years ago and its first use was possibly on March 14, 1870, to describe a storm that produced heavy snow and high winds in Minnesota. Technically, a blizzard is an intense winter storm with sustained winds 35 m.p.h. or higher and sufficient falling and/or blowing snow to reduce visibility below one-quarter mile for at least three hours. Colloquially, the term is loosely applied to any heavy snowstorm. Blizzard conditions figured prominently in one of the worst-ever U.S. winter storms, the “Storm of the Century” that raked the eastern quarter of the nation on March 13-14, 1993. It impacted 100 million people in 26 states from Florida to Maine and claimed 270 victims. The storm produced 11 tornadoes in Florida, a 12-foot storm surge on Florida’s west coast, 20-40” of snow and whiteout conditions from Atlanta to Maine, and winds gusting to 101 m.p.h. in Fairview, N.C.