North Carolina, 2003

Winter Weather in North Carolina, December 3 to 4, 2003

December 3 to 4, 2003 · NWS GSP · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Light snow, mixed at times with sleet, fell across the North Carolina mountains, accumulating up to an inch in some areas.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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
13

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.

Light snow, mixed at times with sleet, fell across the North Carolina mountains, accumulating up to an inch in some areas.

What forecasters said that day

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 3, 9:15 PM EST, 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 3, 9:15 PM EST, 45 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 3, 5:55 AM EST, 16 hours 5 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 3, 4:33 PM EST, 5 hours 27 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Avery

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Avery forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.077, -81.922 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Madison

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.858, -82.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Yancey

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Yancey forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.899, -82.308 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Mitchell

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Mitchell forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.013, -82.163 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Swain

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Swain forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.487, -83.493 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Haywood

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Haywood forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.556, -82.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Buncombe

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Buncombe forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.611, -82.530 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Graham

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Graham forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.350, -83.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Northern Jackson

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.287, -83.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Macon

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Macon forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.150, -83.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southern Jackson

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.287, -83.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Transylvania

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Transylvania forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.202, -82.798 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Henderson

When
December 3, 10:00 PM EST to December 4, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Henderson forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.336, -82.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, December 2003

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5380293, 5380294, 5380295, 5380296, 5380297, 5380298, 5380299, 5380300, 5380301, 5380302, 5380303, 5380304, 5380305.