Photo Credit: Chattooga County Historical Society – Truck abandoned on Taylor’s Ridge, March 13, 2023

Thirty years ago, Chattooga County and people all across the east coast, were dealing with the “Storm of the Century” – the Blizzard of ’93.  For those that remember, it was an event that totally stopped normal life for thousands.

Local leaders at the time organized response to what is arguably the biggest natural disaster to hit Chattooga County in over 100 years.  Jim Parker was commissioner.  Joe Reed was public works director.  Ralph Kellett was sheriff and former Chattooga County Sheriff Gary McConnell had recently been appointed GEMA Director by Governor Zell Miller.  While the county was ill-prepared for the disaster, local government, law enforcement and citizens came together in response to the historic storm.

The day before the snow began to fall, flowers were blooming and temperatures were warm.  But moisture brewing in the Gulf of Mexico and cold arctic air plunging towards the South combined to produce a historic snowfall event – one that hasn’t been repeated in the past three decades.

At least three Chattooga County residents lost their lives as a result of the storm. In all, fifteen people in Georgia died.

The Blizzard of ’93 broke snow-depth records within three days in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Maryland. The total estimated damage in the U.S. was $5.5 billion with over $355 million of damage in Georgia.