As we are in the midst of another Noreaster for the month of March, can you recall where you were three decades ago when the so-called "storm of the 20th century" paralyzed Massachusetts and our surrounding areas? It was deemed "The Blizzard of 93" and remained a long duration weekend event where various portions of our tri-state region measured the white stuff in feet, not inches.

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This historical punch from Mother Nature was also known as "Superstorm '93". It is considered one of the all time most intense extra-tropical storms to have formed over and affected such a large portion of the United States. During it's peak roughly 1/3 of the United States was simultaneously being affected by harsh winter weather.

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Here's how it all began: Snow starting flying across New England and New York during the early morning hours. It was on a Saturday morning (March 13th) as I trekked over to Kingston from neighboring Port Ewen to host my radio show on WBPM-FM (B-94). The roads were greasy, but passable going up route 9W as I made it into work for my 10 am air shift. It was afterwards, when I finished at 3 pm the worst of the worst came into fruition. My Toyota Tercel was buried in snow as this blizzard also produced heavy winds in the vicinity. The end result: I was stuck in our parking lot at John Street. the roads were impassable and there was no choice but to hunker down at my workplace.

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Hours later, New York's first capital city received over a foot of snow. ALL major highways including The Massachusetts Turnpike, The New York State Thruway and Interstate 88 shut down as a state of emergency was declared in the vicinity due to heavy snow and high winds that exceeded 50 miles per hour, thus resulting in white-out conditions. Plows could NOT keep up with the heavy, powdery snow which was moveable, but the winds provided a catalyst that added problems for all.

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I was fortunate to get home safely for my 4 mile trek back south as a Kingston police officer offered to drive me down to Port Ewen. That did not occur until around 12 midnight. Kudos to this gentleman who endured white-knuckle driving to bring me back to my refuge, but the saga continued into the next day as I had to go back to Kingston and dig out my car once the snowfall ceased. That was an adventure in itself. After the task at hand was completed, I stayed home until returning on Monday to a much better and plowed parking lot. There is my lasting memory on how I survived this monstrous blizzard. in one word: WOW!

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Here are some statistics on this mammoth snowfall as the numbers will amaze you:

Out west, Syracuse, New York tallied almost 50 inches of snow breaking an old record of 41 inches back in 1932. The capital city, Albany had a massive 26 and a half inches, Worcester picked up 20 inches plus Boston and my ol' hometown of New York City also measured over a foot as well when it was ALL said and done.

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Locally, here are some impressive totals as our tri-state region also fell victim to Old man Winter's wrath around this time in 1993:

Massachusetts: The jackpot went to Richmond as they scored a 30 plus inch snowfall, Peru got about a foot and a half. Other areas in the Berkshires received at least a foot  of "the gift that keeps on giving".

New York: Greene county's Catskills were hard hit as Halcott Center picked up 1st prize with 40 inches, Prattsville got 3 feet, East Jewett measured an even 30 inches and Cairo got a 28 inch snowfall. In neighboring Columbia county, Copake led the pack receiving about a foot and a half.

Connecticut: Our hill towns in Litchfield county picked up the majority of snow anywhere from 15 inches to 2 feet, while southern parts of the state on the shoreline dealt with snow, high winds and constant beach erosion, but if you were inland, this storm truly left it's mark with a vengeance.

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BOTTOM LINE: March is one of those months where a potpourri of weather awaits you including high impact snowstorms. Two words while we are experiencing this latest round of the white stuff: "STAY SAFE".

(Some information obtained in this article, courtesy of WRGB-TV, CBS 6)

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