North Carolina, 1996

Heavy Snow in North Carolina, February 16, 1996

February 16, 1996 · NWS RAH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Snow developed across the northern Piedmont during the early morning hours and continued through the day. Three to five inches of wet snow fell from Forsyth county eastward across Guilford, Alamance, Orange, Durham, northern Wake, Franklin, northern Nash, and Halifax counties.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS RAH wrote it up.

Please Note...This description applies to all central North Carolina counties during the heavy snow event of February 16th.Snow developed across the northern Piedmont during the early morning hours and continued through the day. Three to five inches of wet snow fell from Forsyth county eastward across Guilford, Alamance, Orange, Durham, northern Wake, Franklin, northern Nash, and Halifax counties. To the south of these counties, the precipitation began as rain as amounts were generally 1 to 3 inches. However, four to eight inches fell across the tier of counties near the NC/VA border.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Alamance

When
February 16, 6:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Alamance forecast zone
Coordinates
36.044, -79.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, February 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5544113.