Some elevations in North Carolina's mountains receive as much as 80 inches of snow (or more) each year. But for those living in the Piedmont and Coastal regions of the Tar Heel State, there is very little chance of seeing snowfall of that magnitude over the course of the winter season. In fact, if you live in those regions, you may actually wish for a little snow every now and then. This may have been the case on January 25, 2000, when an unexpected winter storm hit the Carolinas dumping as much as 24 inches in Raleigh and other amounts from Winston-Salem all the way to the coast in a 24-hour period. Here's more on the unforgettable Great Blizzard of 2000 in North Carolina.
The historic snow event is known as the Carolina Crusher.
The Category 3 nor'easter blew up from Georgia and was expected by meteorologists to leave trace amounts of snowfall in the Piedmont and Coastal regions of North Carolina — but something entirely different manifested overnight.
Where the airflow had been expected to be from the south, overnight, it shifted bringing in colder air from Canada. In essence, the little snow flurries turned into a major nor'easter and much of the two-thirds of the state closest to the coast were blanketed in fresh powder.
Those in Wilmington saw five inches of snow. Jacksonville got four, and Rocky Mount received eight inches. For these cities (and others) the snowfall turned the landscape into a winter wonderland. And all would have been fine, except for the...
power outages. The snow fell from Winston-Salem all the way eastward toward the coast, with Raleigh receiving the most amount of snowfall... a record 24 inches in 24 hours.
The Queen City (Charlotte) got 10 inches, while the neighboring little town of Monroe got 20.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this storm was that the mountains of North Carolina didn't get as much as a single snowflake.
The Great Blizzard of 2000 in North Carolina closed entire towns as power outages wiped out traffic lights as well as sources of heat and light for many residents.
By mid-afternoon, the storm had rolled up the coast and begun to wreak havoc on Central Virginia. It would continue its path all the way up the coast of the eastern United States, ultimately affecting D.C., Pennsylvania, and New Jersey as well.
Do you remember this catastrophic Great Blizzard of 2000 in North Carolina over 20 years ago, dumping snow nearly everywhere except the mountains? Did you make the most of the situation? If so, how?
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