One of the biggest storms in modern memory was the March 1993 Superstorm, which happened during a period of unusual cold – i.e. low thermal energy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Storm_of_the_Century
A “disorganized area of low pressure” that formed in the Gulf of Mexico joined an arctic high pressure system in the Midwestern Great Plains, brought into the mid-latitudes by an unusually steep southward jet stream. These factors combined to produce unusually low temperatures across the eastern half of the United States.
It is unique for its intensity, massive size and wide-reaching effect. At its height the storm stretched from Canada to Central America, but its main impact was on the Eastern United States and Cuba. Areas as far south as central Alabama and Georgia received 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) of snow and areas such as Birmingham, Alabama, received up to 12 inches (30 cm) with isolated reports of 16 inches (41 cm). Even the Florida Panhandle reported up to 4 inches (10 cm)[2], with hurricane-force wind gusts and record low barometric pressures. Between Louisiana and Cuba, hurricane-force winds produced high storm surges in the Gulf of Mexico, which along with scattered tornadoes killed dozens of people.
Now, compare the size of the Superstorm vs. Hurricane Rita. Rita was a 2005 monster storm with 175 MPH winds.
The cold weather storm was much larger than the warm weather storm. Next time Romm goes off on an “increased energy in the system” diatribe, let him know your opinion.
Just remember that he will censor it though.
Thanks for reminding me Steven :-). I was in the middle of this. It was March break, me and my friend + 3 kids were driving from Toronto to Orlando. The record slow avg was 360 km in 24 hrs. It was funny to see piles of snow in Atlanta with 18 + C temps.
I was living in Atlanta during the period (from mid-80’s to 2004). I’ll never forget the Mar ’93, Storm of the Century (and I was born & raised in Buffalo, NY!!) What made it so bad was how cold it was and how long the cold persisted.
Usually, when we’d get snow in Atlanta, it would melt off the roads by the next afternoon, even in January. This was in March!! Some of our fruit trees had already begun to blossom! Temps were in the 20’s F for several days (-4° to -8° C). I was then living just south of Atlanta (4-6″ snow), while in the city the totals were more like 8″. While the first day of the storm was worst, with snow, cold, and winds, what really endured after the snow stopped falling was the cold and the winds. But in the North Georgia mountains, the totals were more like two to three feet of snow and if memory serves, it was at least a week to ten days before conditions in the N Georgia mtns returned to some sort of normality.