Sleet in North Carolina, December 23 to 24, 1998

Name: Sleet in North Carolina, December 23 to 24, 1998
Start: 1998-12-23T09:00
End: 1998-12-24T00:00
Location: North Carolina

December 23 to 24, 1998 · NWS GSP · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Freezing rain and sleet developed early Wednesday morning and persisted through the morning of Christmas Eve. These areas would receive enough glaze by Christmas Eve morning to cause damage.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 8

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 GSP wrote it up.

Freezing rain and sleet developed early Wednesday morning and persisted through the morning of Christmas Eve. These areas would receive enough glaze by Christmas Eve morning to cause damage.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 sleet. Local standard time, as filed.

Sleet, Cabarrus

When: December 23, 9:00 AM EST to December 24, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Cabarrus forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.387, -80.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sleet, Caldwell

When: December 23, 9:00 AM EST to December 24, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Caldwell forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT

Sleet, Catawba

When: December 23, 9:00 AM EST to December 24, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Catawba forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.663, -81.214 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sleet, Davie

When: December 23, 9:00 AM EST to December 24, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Davie forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.929, -80.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sleet, Henderson

When: December 23, 9:00 AM EST to December 24, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Henderson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.336, -82.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sleet, Lincoln

When: December 23, 9:00 AM EST to December 24, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.486, -81.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sleet, McDowell

When: December 23, 9:00 AM EST to December 24, 12:00 AM EST
Where: McDowell forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT

Sleet, Rowan

When: December 23, 9:00 AM EST to December 24, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Rowan forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.640, -80.525 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Sleet: Sleet accumulating half an inch or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Carolina in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, December 1998

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: 5675180, 5675181, 5675182, 5675183, 5675184, 5675185, 5675186, 5675187.