North Carolina, 2003

Sleet in North Carolina, February 16 to 17, 2003

February 16 to 17, 2003 · NWS GSP · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

A light freezing rain developed over the piedmont and foothills of North Carolina during the early morning hours. By mid-morning, the precipitation began to intensify, and a transition to sleet occurred.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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
11

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.

A light freezing rain developed over the piedmont and foothills of North Carolina during the early morning hours. By mid-morning, the precipitation began to intensify, and a transition to sleet occurred. The sleet accumulated rapidly to a depth of 1 inch in most locations, while periods of afternoon, evening, and overnight sleet increased total accumulations to around 2 inches in most areas. Numerous traffic accidents and road closures resulted.

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 Feb 16, 9:24 AM EST, 1 hour 36 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 16, 9:24 AM EST, 1 hour 36 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
924 AM EST SUN FEB 16 2003

MORNING UPDATE WILL CONTAIN ONLY MINOR CHANGES TO OVERALL
FORECAST PACKAGE.  MORNING SOUNDINGS ARE IN LINE WITH
ETA FORECAST TEMPERATURE PROFILES.  OBSERVED TEMPS ARE
A COUPLE OF DEGREES COOLER THAN WORKING MOS TEMPS BUT
MESOETA SURFACE TEMPS ARE RIGHT ON.  SO ANY TWEAKS TO
TEMPERATURES WILL BE TO BRING THEM IN LINE WITH OBSERVATIONS
AND LATEST MODEL RUNS.

ACCUMULATIONS ARE STILL THE BIG QUESTION THROUGHOUT THE
AREA...LATEST FROM NCEP SHOWS ONE HALF TO ONE INCH OF ICE
NORTH OF I85 AND DOWN TO A QUARTER INCH SOUTH OF 85.
THAT LOOKS REASONABLE BUT I77 CORRIDOR COULD GET MORE.

FLOOD WATCH WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR NC MOUNTAIN AS WELL.
QPF OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ON SATURATED SOIL AND SNOW PACK MAY
CAUSE PROBLEMS LATER TONIGHT AS MAIN IMPULSE OF PRECIP
MOVES ACROSS AREA.

FCSTID = 00

.GSP...
GA...WINTER STORM WATCH TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR GAZ010-017>018-026-028.
NC...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR
      NCZ033>037-048>050-053>057-064>072-082.
     FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR
      NCZ033-048>053-058>059-062>065.
SC...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR
      SCZ002>003-005>009.
     WINTER STORM WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR
      SCZ001-004-010-012>014.

DICARLO
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 16, 5:46 AM EST, 5 hours 14 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-161245-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
546 AM EST SUN FEB 16 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA.

.DAY ONE...

A WINTER STORM WILL BE EFFECTING THE REGION THROUGH TONIGHT WITH
DAMAGING ICE ACCUMULATIONS LIKELY ACROSS MUCH OF WESTERN NORTH
CAROLINA AND NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS...PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER STORM
WARNING...WSWGSP...ISSUED BY THIS OFFICE.

LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE
MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CAROLINA...WHERE A FLOOD WATCH...FFAGSP...
IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO RELAY REPORTS OF WINTER WEATHER
AND ANY FLOODING OBSERVED TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 sleet. Local standard time, as filed.

Sleet, Iredell

When
February 16, 11:00 AM EST to February 17, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Iredell forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.807, -80.873 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sleet, Davie

When
February 16, 11:00 AM EST to February 17, 6:00 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, Rowan

When
February 16, 11:00 AM EST to February 17, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Rowan forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.640, -80.525 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sleet, Cleveland

When
February 16, 11:00 AM EST to February 17, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Cleveland forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.334, -81.556 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sleet, Catawba

When
February 16, 11:00 AM EST to February 17, 6:00 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, Lincoln

When
February 16, 11:00 AM EST to February 17, 6:00 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, Cabarrus

When
February 16, 11:00 AM EST to February 17, 6:00 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, Gaston

When
February 16, 11:00 AM EST to February 17, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Gaston forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.294, -81.180 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sleet, Mecklenburg

When
February 16, 11:00 AM EST to February 17, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Mecklenburg forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.247, -80.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sleet, Union

When
February 16, 11:00 AM EST to February 17, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Union forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.988, -80.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sleet, Alexander

When
February 16, 11:00 AM EST to February 17, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Alexander forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.921, -81.177 (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

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, February 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5344805, 5344806, 5344807, 5344808, 5344809, 5344810, 5344811, 5344812, 5344813, 5344814, 5344815.