Шторм столетия 1993 года в США

Category 5 nor'easter in the United States
the 1993 blizzard

The 1993 Storm of the Century (also known as the 93 Superstorm, The No Name Storm, or the Great Blizzard of '93/1993) was a cyclonic storm that formed over the Gulf of Mexico on March 12, 1993. The cold weather, heavy snowfall, high winds and storm surges that the storm brought affected a very large area; at its height, it stretched from Canada to Honduras. The cyclone moved through the Gulf of Mexico and then through the eastern United States before moving on to eastern Canada. It eventually dissipated in the North Atlantic Ocean on March 15. Heavy snow was first reported in highland areas as far south as Alabama and northern Georgia, with Union County, Georgia reporting up to of snow. Birmingham, Alabama, reported a rare of snow. The Florida Panhandle reported up to around 6 inches to a foot of snow, with hurricane force wind gusts and record low barometric pressures. Between Louisiana and Cuba, the hurricane force winds produced high storm surges across the Big Bend of Florida which, in combination with scattered tornadoes, killed dozens of people. Record cold temperatures were seen across portions of the Southern United States and Eastern United States in the wake of this storm. In the United States, the storm was responsible for the loss of electric power to more than 10 million households. An estimated 40 percent of the country's population experienced the effects of the storm

A volcanic winter is thought to have started with the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. The temperature in the stratosphere rose to several degrees higher than normal, due to the absorption of radiation by the aerosol. The stratospheric cloud from the eruption persisted in the atmosphere for three years. The eruption, while not directly responsible, may have played a part in the formation of the 1993 Storm of the Century. During March 11 and 12, 1993, temperatures over much of the eastern United States began to drop as an arctic high pressure system built over the Midwestern United States and the Great Plains. Concurrently, an extratropical area of low pressure formed over Mexico along a stationary front draped west to east. By the afternoon of March 12, a defined airmass boundary was present along the deepening low. An initial burst of convective precipitation off the southern coast of Texas (facilitated by the transport of tropical moisture into the region) enabled initial intensification of the surface feature on March 12. Supported by a strong split polar jet stream and a shortwave trough, the nascent system rapidly deepened. with all time low pressure records set between Tallahassee and Washington, D. C. Snow began to spread over the eastern United States, and a large squall line moved from the Gulf of Mexico into Florida and Cuba. The storm system tracked up the East Coast during Saturday and into Canada by early Monday morning. In the storm's wake, unseasonably cold temperatures were recorded over the next two days in the Southeast.

Storm of the Century marked a milestone in the weather forecasting of the United States. By March 8, 1993, several operational numerical weather prediction models and medium range forecasters at the United States National Weather Service recognized the threat of a significant snowstorm. This marked the first time National Weather Service meteorologists were able to predict accurately a system's severity five days in advance. Official blizzard warnings were issued two days before the storm arrived, as shorter range models began to confirm the predictions. Forecasters were finally confident enough of the computer forecast models to support decisions by several northeastern states to declare a state of emergency even before the snow started to fall.

The United States Coast Guard dealt with "absolutely incredible, unbelievable" conditions within the Gulf of Mexico. The 200 feet (61 m) freighter Fantastico sank 70 mile (113 km) off Ft. Myers, Florida, and seven of her crew died when a Coast Guard helicopter was forced back to base due to low fuel levels after rescuing three of her crew. The 147 feet (45 m) freighter Miss Beholden ran aground on a coral reef 10 mile (16 km) from Key West, Florida. Several other smaller vessels sank in the rough seas. In all, the Coast Guard rescued 235 people from over 100 boats across the Gulf of Mexico during the tempest.

Besides producing record low barometric pressure across a swath of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic states, and contributing to one of the nation's biggest snowstorms, the low produced a potent squall line ahead of its cold front. The squall line produced a serial derecho as it moved into Florida and Cuba shortly after midnight on March 13. Straight line winds gusted above at many locations in Florida as the squall line moved through. A substantial tree fall was seen statewide from this system. The supercells in the derecho produced eleven tornadoes. The first tornado was an F2 that touched down in Chiefland at 04:38 UTC on March 13, damaging several mobile homes and downing trees and power lines. Three people were killed and seven people sustained injures. Around the same time, an F1 tornado was spawned near Crystal River. After moving eastward into the town, the twister damaged 15 homes, several of them severely. A total of three people were injured. The next tornado was a waterspout that moved ashore over Treasure Island around 05:00 UTC. Rated F0, the tornado deroofed one home, damaged several others, and impacted a few boats. Around 05:04 UTC, an F0 tornado was reported in New Port Richey, damaging several homes and injuring 11 people. About 16 minutes later, an F2 tornado formed to the southwest of Ocala. Many trees fell and several storage buildings and a warehouse suffered extensive damage, while one hangar was destroyed and two others received major damage at the Ocala International Airport. At 05:20 UTC, approximately the same time as the Ocala tornado, another twister – rated F1 – touched down near LaCrosse. Several trees and power lines were downed and a few homes were destroyed, one from a propane explosion. One person was killed and four others received injuries. About 10 minutes later, another F2 twister was spawned near Howey in the Hills. It moved through Mount Dora, destroying 13 homes, substantially damaging 80 homes, and inflicting minor damage on 266 homes. One person, a 5 month old baby, was killed, while two others were injured. More people died from drowning in this storm than during Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew combined. Overall, the storm's surge, winds, and tornadoes damaged or destroyed 18,000 homes. A total of 47 people died in Florida due to this storm. The squall line finally moved out of Cuba near sunrise, leaving 10 deaths and US$1 billion in damage on the island.

The cargo ship Gold Bond Conveyor en route from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to Tampa, Florida foundered in the Atlantic Ocean SE of Sable Island, Nova Scotia with the loss of all 33 crew. It is thought that water entered the hold where gypsum ore was being stored and caused the rock to shift and harden. This instability compounded with winds of and 100 feet (30 m) waves led to her sinking. The Liberian flagged ship was owned by Skaarup Shipping Corp., of Greenwich, Connecticut, and under charter to National Gypsum Co., a U. S. company. The ship had previously survived the Perfect Storm of 1991 two years earlier.

F#LocationCountyTime (UTC)Path lengthFatalitiesFlorida F2NW of Chiefland Levy 0438 1 mile (2 km)3 deaths F1E of Crystal River Citrus 0438 0.5 mile (1 km) F0Treasure Island Pinellas 0500 0.2 mile (0 km) F0New Port Richey area Pasco 0504 0.1 mile (0 km) F2Ocala area Marion 0520 15 mile (24 km) F1N of LaCrosse Alachua 0520 0.8 mile (1 km)1 death F2NW of Howey in the Hills to Altamonte Springs Lake 0530 30 mile (48 km)1 death F1Tampa area Hillsborough 0530 0.6 mile (1 km) F1Jacksonville area (1st tornado) Duval 0600 0.8 mile (1 km) F0Bartow area Polk 0600 0.1 mile (0 km) F0Jacksonville area (2nd tornado) Duval 0610 0.1 mile (0 km)