Winter Storm, Watauga
- When
- February 2, 9:00 PM EST to February 3, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Watauga forecast zone
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 36.231, -81.696 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm and Winter Storm in North Carolina, February 2 to 3, 2004
Low pressure moving up the Mid-Atlantic coast brought wintry weather conditions to the mountains and foothills of North Carolina during the evening of the 2nd through the morning of the 3rd. 5 inches of snow fell across most of Watauga County, along with one quarter inch of glaze.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- 2
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 RNK wrote it up.
Low pressure moving up the Mid-Atlantic coast brought wintry weather conditions to the mountains and foothills of North Carolina during the evening of the 2nd through the morning of the 3rd. 5 inches of snow fell across most of Watauga County, along with one quarter inch of glaze. In Wilkes County, there was one quarter inch of ice accretion.
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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 2, 3:10 PM EST, 5 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 2, 3:10 PM EST, 5 hours 50 minutes before
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</html>Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 2, 4:40 PM EST, 4 hours 20 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 440 PM EST MON FEB 2 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA... WESTERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA...AS WELL AS NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA. FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT... HTTP://WWW.ERH.NOAA.GOV/RNK(LOWER CASE). NCZ001>003-018-019-VAZ010>020-022>024-032>035-045>047-WVZ042>045- 031000- ALLEGHANY VA-ALLEGHANY NC-AMHERST VA-APPOMATTOX VA-ASHE NC-BATH VA- BEDFORD VA-BLAND VA-BOTETOURT VA-BUCKINGHAM VA-CAMPBELL VA- CARROLL VA-CRAIG VA-FLOYD VA-FRANKLIN VA-GILES VA-GRAYSON VA- GREENBRIER WV-MERCER WV-MONROE WV-MONTGOMERY VA-PATRICK VA- PULASKI VA-ROANOKE VA-ROCKBRIDGE VA-SUMMERS WV-SURRY NC-WATAUGA NC- WILKES NC-WYTHE VA- INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...LEWISBURG...BLUEFIELD... WYTHEVILLE...SALEM CITY...PEARISBURG...LYNCHBURG CITY...GALAX CITY... CLIFTON FORGE CITY...BLACKSBURG...BEDFORD CITY...APPOMATTOX... WILKESBORO...SPARTA...DOBSON AND BOONE 440 PM EST MON FEB 2 2004 .DAY ONE... SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCRETIONS OF A QUARTER OF AN INCH WILL OCCUR TONIGHT INTO EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. LOCATIONS RIGHT ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY ARE THE MOST LIKELY TO SEE UP TO A HALF INCH OF ICE ACCRETION. THE NEW RIVER VALLEY...EASTWARD INTO THE ROANOKE AND SOUTHERN SHENANDOAH VALLEYS...MAY SEE 1 TO 2 INCHES OF SLEET AND SNOW ACCUMULATION IN ADDITION TO A QUARTER INCH OF ICE ACCRETION. FURTHER NORTH INTO THE GREENBRIER VALLEY AND THE ALLEGHANY HIGHLANDS CAN EXPECT 3 TO 6 INCHES OF SLEET AND SNOW ACCUMULATION...AND ICE ACCRETIONS FROM AN EIGHTH TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH. A QUARTER INCH OR MORE OF ICE CAN RESULT IN DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... ANOTHER STORM IS EXPECTED TO BRING EITHER RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN TO THE AREA THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WHEN ACCUMULATIONS OF ICE OF A QUARTER INCH OR MORE ARE OBSERVED. VAZ007-009-031000- SMYTH VA-TAZEWELL VA- 440 PM EST MON FEB 2 2004 .DAY ONE... EXPECT A MIX OF LIGHT FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET INTO THIS EVENING...AND THEN RAIN WITH POCKETS OF FREEZING RAIN INTO EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. ICE ACCRETIONS WILL BE LESS THAN TWO TENTHS OF AN INCH...WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS EXPECTED ACROSS EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE COUNTIES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... ANOTHER STORM IS EXPECTED TO BRING EITHER RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN TO THE AREA THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WHEN ACCUMULATIONS OF ICE OF A QUARTER INCH OR MORE ARE OBSERVED. NCZ005-006-020-VAZ044-058-059-031000- CASWELL NC-CHARLOTTE VA-HALIFAX VA-PITTSYLVANIA VA-ROCKINGHAM NC- YADKIN NC- INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...DANVILLE CITY AND EDEN 440 PM EST MON FEB 2 2004 .DAY ONE... A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT TONIGHT AND EARLY TUESDAY. RAIN MIXED WITH SLEET WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE AREA LATE IN THE DAY. THE RAIN MAY CHANGE TO FREEZING RAIN TONIGHT IF TEMPERATURES GET CLOSE TO FREEZING. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR FREEZING RAIN WILL BE NORTH OF HIGHWAY 58 IN VIRGINIA...AND WEST OF HIGHWAY 220 IN NORTH CAROLINA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... ANOTHER STORM IS EXPECTED TO BRING EITHER RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN TO THE AREA THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WHEN ACCUMULATIONS OF ICE OF A QUARTER INCH OR MORE ARE OBSERVED. 11/7
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 winter storm, 1 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Ice Storm, Wilkes
- When
- February 2, 10:00 PM EST to February 3, 10:00 AM EST
- Where
- Wilkes forecast zone
- Reported by
- UNKNOWN
- Coordinates
- 36.206, -81.163 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
- Ice Storm
- Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Illinois, February 2, 2004
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Snow in California, February 2 to 3, 2004
- Strong Wind in California, February 2, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, February 2, 2004
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, February 2, 2004
- Dense Fog in Florida, February 2, 2004
- Winter Weather in South Carolina, February 2, 2004
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, February 2, 2004
- Ice Storm and Heavy Snow in Virginia, February 2 to 3, 2004
- Winter Storm and Strong Wind in California, February 2 to 3, 2004
- Sleet in North Carolina, February 2 to 3, 2004
- High Wind in Oregon, February 2, 2004
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, February 2004
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: 5385619, 5385620.