Cold/Wind Chill, Ashe
- When
- February 3, 2:00 PM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Ashe forecast zone
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 36.434, -81.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold in North Carolina, February 3 to 6, 1996
Extremely cold air spread into northwest and north-central North Carolina on the 3rd and continued until the 6th. Low temperatures during the early morning hours on the 5th ranged from 8 below zero to 12 below zero in the mountains to zero to 6 below zero east of the mountains.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $275,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 9
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 RNK wrote it up.
Extremely cold air spread into northwest and north-central North Carolina on the 3rd and continued until the 6th. Low temperatures during the early morning hours on the 5th ranged from 8 below zero to 12 below zero in the mountains to zero to 6 below zero east of the mountains. Several home that did not have power restored after the ice storm were damaged when water pipes froze and ruptured.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
9 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Cold/Wind Chill, Alleghany
- When
- February 3, 2:00 PM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Alleghany forecast zone
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 36.491, -81.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Surry
- When
- February 3, 2:00 PM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Surry forecast zone
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Coordinates
- 36.415, -80.687 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Stokes
- When
- February 3, 2:00 PM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Stokes forecast zone
- Property damage
- $35,000
- Coordinates
- 36.402, -80.240 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Rockingham
- When
- February 3, 2:00 PM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rockingham forecast zone
- Property damage
- $40,000
- Coordinates
- 36.396, -79.775 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Caswell
- When
- February 3, 2:00 PM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Caswell forecast zone
- Property damage
- $35,000
- Coordinates
- 36.393, -79.334 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Watauga
- When
- February 3, 2:00 PM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Watauga forecast zone
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 36.231, -81.696 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Wilkes
- When
- February 3, 2:00 PM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Wilkes forecast zone
- Property damage
- $40,000
- Coordinates
- 36.206, -81.163 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Yadkin
- When
- February 3, 2:00 PM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Yadkin forecast zone
- Property damage
- $35,000
- Coordinates
- 36.161, -80.665 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Virginia, February 3 to 6, 1996
- Ice Storm in Louisiana, February 3, 1996
- Cold in South Carolina, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Ice Storm in Oregon, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Texas, February 3 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Georgia, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Alabama, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Avalanche and Flood in Alaska, February 3 to 10, 1996
- Ice Storm in Louisiana, February 3, 1996
- Flood in California, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Georgia, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New York, February 3, 1996
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5539401, 5539402, 5539403, 5539404, 5539405, 5539406, 5539407, 5539408, 5539409.