March 21-23, 1968 Major Snowstorm

March 21-23, 1968 Snow Totals

Overview

FROM THE MARCH 1968 STORM DATA PUBLICATION: A major snowstorm of the 1967-1968 winter season in terms of area covered by heavy snowfall, followed by near record low temperatures, gave the western half of Tennessee its most unusual late winter weather in many years. The record heavy snow, preceded by rain, began on the 21st and continued on the 22nd, with some light snow on the 23rd. The snowstorm yielded 12 to 16 inches in most parts of West Tennessee and 6 to 12 inches in Middle Tennessee. In Memphis, snowfall was the second heaviest of record, with 17.3 inches falling on the 21st to 23rd, 16.3 inches fell in 19 hours and 38 minutes. The snow was wet and heavy and did considerable damage to trees, shrubbery, wires and some roofs. East of the Cumberland Plateau, snowfall amounts decreased rapidly to 1 inch to mostly traces of snow in East Tennessee. In the areas of heaviest snowfall there was some interruption to power and telephone service, although it was not as great as would be expected. Slippery roads with snow and ice were blamed for numerous traffic injuries. Three deaths were related to the storm, of which 2 resulted from hear failure while shoveling snow.

March 21-23, 1968 Snowfall Totals across Middle Tennessee
Snow Total	City	County
12.5"	Waynesboro	Wayne
12.0"	Dover	Stewart
11.5"	Dickson	Dickson
11.3"	Clarksville	Montgomery
11.0"	Linden	Perry
10.5"	Cheatham Dam	Cheatham
10.5"	Springfield	Robertson
10.5"	Orlinda	Robertson
10.0"	Murfreesboro	Rutherford
9.5"	Portland	Sumner
9.3"	7 N Lebanon	Wilson
9.0"	Bethpage	Sumner
9.0"	Carthage	Smith
9.0"	Lebanon	Wilson
9.0"	Lewisburg	Marshall
9.0"	Columbia	Maury
8.0"	Centerville	Hickman
8.0"	Lafayette	Macon
8.0"	Shelbyville	Bedford
8.0"	Woodbury	Cannon
7.5"	Franklin	Williamson
6.5"	Pulaski	Giles
6.0"	Cookeville	Putnam
6.0"	Lawrenceburg	Lawrence
6.0"	Tullahoma	Coffee
4.0"	Allardt	Fentress
4.0"	Jamestown	Fentress
3.0"	Sparta	White
2.0"	McMinnville	Warren
2.0"	Crossville	Cumberland