I remember the blizzard in March 30 years ago

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Columbus, Ohio (WCMH) – Thirty years ago, in mid-March, a major snowstorm enveloped the East Coast and reached as far west as the Ohio Valley.

The weekend storm that hit central Ohio with several inches of snow and high winds on Saturday, March 13, 1993 was so huge in extent that a heavy snow belt stretched across the eastern half of Ohio.

The 1993 blizzard near the East Coast, dubbed the “Storm of the Century,” brought tremendous snowfall to the eastern slopes of the range, disrupting transportation for several days.

Four inches of snow blanketed parts of the Florida Panhandle on Friday, March 12 as a storm hit the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and a tornado swept through the southern part of the state.

Mountains in northern Georgia were blanketed with about 3 feet of snow, and Birmingham, Alabama, received 13 inches of snow as the storm surged north along the Atlantic coast.

Mike Singer cross-country skis at Sheep Meadow in Central Park on March 14, 1993. After a blizzard on March 13th, the park received a record 10 inches of snow. (Photo by JOHN MOTTERN/AFP) (Photo by JOHN MOTTERN/AFP via Getty Images)
New York, USA: March 13, 1993, a pizza delivery man waiting to cross Second Avenue saves himself from a snowstorm that hits New York City and much of the East Coast of the United States. One of the worst blizzards in the last decade he has a foot of snow. (Photo credit should read TIM CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
Geoffrey Rest in full dress shovels snow outside a theater in Times Square, New York, on the night of Saturday, March 13, 1993. (AP Photo/Paul Hirschman)
On March 13, 1993, an unidentified pedestrian stops to see the city’s snowman, braving a violent storm that has dropped nearly a foot of snow on the metropolitan area. Rarely seen on the streets of Midtown New York on Broadway and his 53rd Street. (AP Photo/Shirley Barenholtz)
NEW YORK CITY Taxi drivers try to save their cabs from snow piled up by road plows in lower Manhattan March 15, 1993 after a winter storm hit the metropolitan area on Saturday. About 10 inches of snow, plus rain and sleet, combined with high winds and low temperatures, brought occasional thunder and lightning, making the larger storms difficult to deal with. (AP Photo/Mike Albans)
On Saturday, March 13, 1993, a driver exited early after losing control of his vehicle as it skidded off the road on Interstate 20 East during a blizzard in Atlanta. The area was hit by a severe storm that caused power outages and traffic jams. (AP Photo/Curtis Compton)
Howard Truss (left) exits the Beach House with John Burgess in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, March 13, 1993, looking for higher ground to wait for Saturday’s winter storm. Howard and his family stay with the Burgess family while they weather the storm. (AP Photo/Janet Durrans)
Melissa Day, 12, from Panama City, Fla., is pictured in Washington during a snowstorm on March 13, 1993. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
New York’s Ladder Company 50 fire truck flashes its lights past the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and the Vista Hotel during a severe winter storm in New York on March 13, 1993. Regional airports and the National Weather Service have issued coastal flood warnings. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
A truck driver throws a box to a waiting helper on a pile of ice and snow on the morning of Monday, March 15, 1993, while making a delivery in New York. Cities along the east coast continue to dig in from the weekend’s blizzard. (AP Photo/Justin Sutcliffe)
Fernando Aguilan (left) removes blocks of ice from the front of his son Marco’s cab in Astoria, Queens, March 15, 1993. Much of the city’s transportation was returning to normal. As cleanup continues from the weekend storm that brought much of public transport to a standstill. (AP Photo/Ed Bailey)
A woman pushes an infant in a stroller with ankle-deep water collected from meltwater in New York City’s Union Square neighborhood on March 16, 1993. Workers chopping ice and shoveling snow took over cleaning blizzards from street corners and mechanized puddles. Muscles cannot do work. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Allen and Lauren Haywood (above) slide down the snow-covered Capitol grounds on March 14, 1993 in Washington. At right is Aubrey Parsons from Washington State. Over the weekend, a severe winter storm dropped nearly a foot of snow on the capital. (AP Photo/Mark Wilson)
On March 13, 1993, an unidentified cross-country skier puts up a pole as pedestrians cover their faces across Fifth Avenue in New York City during a severe snowstorm. Extremely strong winds and heavy snow have made driving unsafe and all of the region’s airports remain closed. (AP Photo/David Karp)
Pedestrians walk through the snow toward the Capitol building near the interstate junction in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, March 13, 1993. A windy blizzard that hit the area knocked down I-75 and I-85 signs. The gold dome of the Houses of Parliament is at the top center. (AP Photo/Curtis Compton)
A lone skier crosses the mall in front of the Washington Monument on March 14, 1993. Much of downtown Washington was deserted on Sunday morning as he began to recover from one of the biggest winter storms in recent years. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
Lynn Kim crosses Washington Street as a truck slowly approaches during a New York winter storm on March 13, 1993. area of Long Island. (AP Photo/Robert Clarke)
WASHINGTON DC – MARCH 13: Frank and Cindy Bartsik of Newark, Delaware walk through Lafayette Park in front of the White House on March 13, 1993. (Photo credit should read ROBERT GIROUX/AFP via Getty Images)

On the evening of Friday, March 12th, light snow began to fall across Buckeye. Snow rates increased Saturday afternoon in central and eastern Ohio. Columbus received 5 inches of snow and gusts reached 41 mph and 50 mph in eastern counties, creating blizzard conditions.

The snow really piled up in southeastern Ohio, reaching a total of 20 inches in Newport, Washington County and 19.5 inches in Marietta. On the West Virginia side of the Ohio River, the National Weather Service’s offices in Parkersburg (20.3 inches) and Huntington (22.5 inches) saw record snowfall in March.

The highest snowfall in Mount Le Comte, Tennessee was 56 inches. Pittsburgh he was buried in 25.2 inches of snow, and at the highest elevation in the Appalachian Mountains he was 3 to 4 feet tall.