This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of one of the landmark local weather events of the 20th century, the Blizzard of 1993.
On March 12-13, 1993, more than 20 inches of snow fell in parts of metro Chattanooga, paralyzing the city for several days. A city that only averages 3-4 inches a snow a year got about five times that much in 24 hours.
But old-timers will tell you there is another March weather event that stands out, as well. The Great Ice Storm of 1960, which began March 2 that year, was especially brutal for residents of Lookout and Signal mountains.
The photo accompanying this article, from the EPB archives via ChattanoogaHistory.com, shows downed power lines on Lookout Mountain in 1960. According to news reports as many as 30 power crews from EPB and the then-Southern Bell Telephone Co. (later BellSouth, and later still AT&T) worked for days to restore power in the upper elevations.
In a March 1960 newspaper report, E.C. Edmonds, then-system operator for EPB, called the ice storm “the worst I’ve ever seen in the 31 years I’ve been with the Power Board.”