PITTSBURGH — March 13, 1993 is a day Pittsburghers won’t forget, as 23.6 inches of snow piled up before their eyes.
Severe Weather Team 11 Meteorologist Kevin Benson covered it around the clock.
“We were stuck at the station all weekend because anybody who wanted to relieve us couldn’t get on the road,” he said.
The snow actually began to fall the night of Friday, Mar. 12 but became much more intense on Saturday.
“This was an honest to goodness blizzard that really included tons of snow,” Benson said.
The St. Patrick's Day parade continued in downtown Pittsburgh on Saturday as the storm really kicked in. Snowfall rates were 2 to 3 inches per hour at times.
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The storm produced high wind, blowing and drifting snow with wind chill temperatures dangerously below zero.
People were urged to stay indoors. The turnpike, interstate highways and most roads were shutdown, impassable. Everything came to a screeching halt.
The 1993 storm of the century marked a milestone when forecast models saw the threat of a significant snowstorm, and for the first time, meteorologists were able to predict accurately a storm's severity five days in advance.
The total snow for the storm: 25.3 inches.
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