Freezing rain began over the extreme southern mountains of North Carolina during the early afternoon on the 4th, and had spread into the southwest piedmont by mid afternoon. Resultant damage due to ice accumulation began during the mid-to-late afternoon.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
Freezing rain began over the extreme southern mountains of North Carolina during the early afternoon on the 4th, and had spread into the southwest piedmont by mid afternoon. Resultant damage due to ice accumulation began during the mid-to-late afternoon. The intensity of the freezing rain increased after midnight, and by sunrise on the 5th, devastating ice accumulations of 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches were observed. The hardest hit area was Charlotte metro. Hundreds of thousands lost power, and the outages lasted for as long as 2 weeks in some areas.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 4, 11:06 AM EST, 3 hours 54 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1106 AM EST WED DEC 4 2002 SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM UNDERWAY. ALL SNOW IN THE NRN MTNS WITH UP TO 3 INCHES REPORTED. WILL UP SNOW TOTALS THERE AND I-40 CORRIDOR WHERE AIR IS COLDEST AND SNOW WILL LAST THE LONGEST. WET BULBS BELOW FREEZING XCPT NEAR THE SC/GA BORDER. WILL LEAVE WARNING AS IS GIVEN DAMAGING ICE ACCUMULATIONS STILL POSSIBLE. HAVE REWORDED A FEW ZONES TO ACCOMMODATE EXPECTED P-TYPE. MORE SNOW NORTH...MORE FREEZING RAIN SOUTH. ADDED BREEZY WINDS TO SOME LOCATIONS. WORDED TEMPS STEADY AS LITTLE MOVEMENT EXPECTED. .GSP... GA...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH TONIGHT ALL ZONES. NC...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH TONIGHT ALL ZONES. SC...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH TONIGHT ALL ZONES. RWH
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-041315- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 617 AM EST WED DEC 4 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE... A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL BE SPREADING SNOW...SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN INTO THE AREA THROUGH TONIGHT AND A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT. FOR FURTHER DETAILS...PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WSWGSP ISSUED BY THIS OFFICE. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO RELAY REPORTS OF SNOW AND ICE TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... LINGERING ICING CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE INTO THURSDAY MORNING BEFORE THE TEMPERATURE WARMS TO ABOVE FREEZING BY MIDDAY. 55
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-041745- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1057 AM EST WED DEC 4 2002 ...WINTRY WEATHER SPREADING ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA... A MIXTURE OF SNOW...SLEET...AND FREEZING RAIN WAS BECOMING HEAVIER ACROSS THE AREA DURING LATE MORNING. SEVERAL COUNTIES...MAINLY IN THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS...WERE ALREADY REPORTING AN INCH OR A LITTLE MORE OF SNOW ACCUMULATION. THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RECENTLY REPORTED 2 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW AROUND AVERY COUNTY. OTHER AREAS WERE REPORTING A MIX OF SLEET...SNOW...AND SOME RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN. ROADS WERE ALREADY HAZARDOUS IN MANY MOUNTAIN AREAS...WITH MANY ACCIDENTS REPORTED AROUND MORGANTON...NEWLAND AND BANNER ELK...BUNCOMBE COUNTY. VEHICLES WERE REPORTED STRANDED AND ABANDONED IN SOME AREAS. COUNTIES IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS REPORTED MAINLY RAIN AND SLEET...WITH SNOW AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...MAINLY SLEET AND RAIN WAS REPORTED...WITH SNOW IN RABUN COUNTY GEORGIA. ICING WILL BEGIN FIRST ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES IN THESE AREAS. THE LATEST FORECAST UPDATE ON SNOW AND ICE ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 1115 AM EST. JONES
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-042030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 143 PM EST WED DEC 4 2002 ...CONDITIONS ALREADY HAZARDOUS IN MANY AREAS... SNOW HAS BEEN FALLING ACROSS THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS SINCE EARLY MORNING...AND HAS RESULTED IN ACCUMULATIONS RANGING FROM AN INCH OR SO IN SOME VALLEYS...TO 3 TO 5 INCHES IN SOME LOCATIONS. THE HEAVIEST ACCUMULATIONS REPORTED SO FAR BY SPOTTERS AND COUNTY OFFICIALS WERE AROUND FLETCHER...LEICESTER...AND NEWLAND. CONSIDERABLE ACCUMULATIONS WERE ALSO REPORTED AROUND CASHIERS...HIGHLANDS...AND NANTAHALA. SOME DEEP MOUNTAIN VALLEYS IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS...AND IN THE MOUNTAINS OF EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA...WERE STILL REPORTING MAINLY RAIN...SOME OF WHICH WAS FREEZING. SIMILAR CONDITIONS WERE REPORTED IN THE GEORGIA PIEDMONT AND THE LOWER PIEDMONT IN SOUTH CAROLINA...AROUND ELBERTON...ABBEVILLE...AND GREENWOOD. SNOW WAS FALLING ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT IN NORTH CAROLINA...WHERE AN INCH WAS REPORTED. IN FACT...SOME AREAS NEAR THE MOUNTAINS HAD 2 TO 3 INCHES. NUMEROUS AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS WERE REPORTED...AND POLK COUNTY RECENTLY REPORTED THAT SOME ROADS WERE CLOSED. ALONG THE INTERSTATE 85 CORRIDOR IN UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...FREEZING RAIN WAS WIDESPREAD...WITH ACCUMULATIONS BECOMING SIGNIFICANT ON TREES AND POWER LINES. ICY BRIDGES WERE REPORTED IN SOME COUNTIES. JONES
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-042145- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 259 PM EST WED DEC 4 2002 ...MAJOR WINTER STORM AFFECTING THE AREA... CONDITIONS IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA WERE GETTING WORSE RAPIDLY...BECAUSE OF ICING FROM FREEZING RAIN. DAMAGE HAS ALREADY BEEN REPORTED IN GREENVILLE...ANDERSON...AND ABBEVILLE COUNTIES. THE WEIGHT OF ACCUMULATED ICE HAS CAUSED TREES AND POWER LINES TO FALL. WITH DAMAGE STARTING THIS EARLY...AND MUCH MORE FREEZING RAIN TO FOLLOW...THIS COULD BECOME ONE OF THE WORST ICE STORMS IN SEVERAL YEARS FOR THE AREA. IN ADDITION...ROADS AND BRIDGES WILL BEGIN TO ICE UP MORE QUICKLY. HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED NEAR THE NORTH CAROLINA BORDER. IN NORTH CAROLINA...MORE SNOW HAS BEEN REPORTED. SOME AREAS ALONG THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE MOUNTAINS /LAKE LURE...JONAS RIDGE...OLD FORT/ HAVE REPORTED 3 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOWFALL ALREADY. AREAS WELL EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS HAVE HAD AN INCH OR SO...WITH SOME SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN MIXED IN. IN THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS...THE PRECIPITATION WAS MAINLY SNOW...WITH PERIODS OF FREEZING RAIN MIXED IN. ACCUMULATIONS VARY WIDELY...FROM 3 TO 5 INCHES IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS...TO AN INCH OR MORE IN THE VALLEYS. JONES
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, December 2002
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: 5326490, 5326491, 5326492, 5326493, 5326494, 5326495, 5326496.