Winter Weather, Avery
- When
- February 18, 4:00 AM EST to 8:00 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 in North Carolina, February 18, 2003
A brief period of light snow resulted in little more than a dusting of snowfall, which was enough to cause some slick spots on roads.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 brief period of light snow resulted in little more than a dusting of snowfall, which was enough to cause some slick spots on roads.
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 18, 3:13 AM EST, 47 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 18, 3:13 AM EST, 47 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 313 AM EST TUE FEB 18 2003 HAVE ISSUED DFA FOR NC FTHLS/PIEDMONT & SMALL PART OF NE UPSTATE AS NMRS MTRS IN THIS VCNTY RUNNING AROUND 1/4SM. THIS AREA WILL ALSO BE THE LAST AREA TO EXPERIENCE LLVL DRYING HAS LOWER BLYR RH LEVELS MOVE UP FROM THE SW. OTHERWISE...WITH UPPER FLOW BACKING TO WSW THIS AFTERNOON...PROBABLY WILL SEE A LTL HI CLDS AFTER AM ST/BR ERODES. MODEL T/H X-SXNS INDICATE INCREASED MOISTENING FROM THE TOP DOWN THROUGH A DEEPER LAYER TONIGHT IN BROAD AND DEEP SW FLOW. S/WV LOOKS TO SKIRT BY TO OUR NORTH WED-WED NITE W/JUST SOME WEAK LARGE SCALE LIFT EXPECTED WITH MUCH OF VORT ENERGY CHANNELED. LOOKS LIKE A BAND OF DEEPER RH WILL DRIFT SE INTO THE CWFA WED NITE WITH SHORT RANGE MDL ENSEMBLE MEANS SUPPORTING GOING FCST OF PCPN CHCS LIMITED TO THE NC MTNS...GENERATING A FEW HUNDRETHS OF AN INCH OF PCPN. DEEP RH BAND LOOKS TO GET ORPHANED OVER THE CWFA THU AS IT BECOMES PARALLEL TO MID/UPR FLOW...BUT LLVL UPGLIDE FLOW GETS UNDERWAY AS WELL. WILL CONTINUE TO CONFINE ONSET OF CHC POPS TO THU NITE PERIOD WITH INCREASED AMNTS OF UPGLIDE FLOW COMBINED WITH S/WV EJECTING NE ACRS THE WRN CWFA AT THIS TIME. MOIST AND PRONOUNCED LLVL WAA PATTERN CONTINUES FOR FRIDAY AND INTO FRIDAY NITE W/TIMING OF PASSAGE OF STG FRONTAL BAND AND THREAT OF DEEP CONVECTION STILL ON TRACK FOR FRIDAY NIGHT OR SATURDAY. FCSTID = 55 GSP 54 34 57 38 / 0 0 0 10 AND 55 34 59 39 / 0 0 0 10 CLT 51 31 57 38 / 0 0 0 10 HKY 49 32 52 36 / 0 0 0 10 AVL 50 30 51 35 / 0 0 0 20 .GSP... GA...NONE. NC...DENSE FOG ADVISORY THIS MORNING NCZ034>037-054>057-066>072-082. SC...DENSE FOG ADVISORY THIS MORNING SCZ008>009.
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 17, 5:30 AM EST, 22 hours 30 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-171230- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 530 AM EST MON FEB 17 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE... A WINTER STORM WARNING CONTINUES THIS MORNING ALONG AND EAST OF THE INTERSTATE 77 CORRIDOR IN NORTH CAROLINA WITH WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES IN EFFECT FOR THE REST OF THE NORTH CAROLINA WESTERN PIEDMONT AND FOOTHILLS. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE ALSO IN EFFECT THIS MORNING FOR THE UPSTATE AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. FOR FURTHER DETAILS...PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WSWGSP...ISSUED BY THIS OFFICE. IN ADDITION...NUMEROUS ROADS ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS ARE ICE COVERED...THE RESULT OF YESTERDAYS FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET. PLEASE EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION WHILE TRAVELING THIS MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. 55
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Feb 17, 10:07 PM EST, 5 hours 53 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-181400- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1007 PM EST MON FEB 17 2003 ...REFREEZING LIKELY OVERNIGHT... MANY ROADWAYS ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA REMAIN SLUSHY OR WET DUE TO YESTERDAYS PRECIPITATION. WITH TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO FALL OR REMAIN BELOW FREEZING OVERNIGHT... REFREEZING OF THIS SLUSH AND WATER WILL LIKELY OCCUR. PEOPLE TRAVELING ACROSS THE AREA OVERNIGHT...OR FOR THEIR MORNING COMMUTE...SHOULD USE EXTRA CAUTION AND REMAIN ALERT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF PATCHY ICE ON ROADWAYS. SKIES ARE EXPECTED TO CLEAR BY MID MORNING ON TUESDAY...ALLOWING ANY LINGERING ICE TO MELT QUICKLY. LANE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Weather, Madison
- When
- February 18, 4:00 AM EST to 8:00 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, Mitchell
- When
- February 18, 4:00 AM EST to 8:00 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, Graham
- When
- February 18, 4:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
- Where
- Graham forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 35.350, -83.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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, 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: 5344836, 5344837, 5344932, 5344933.