Ice Storm in North Carolina, February 3, 2005

Name: Ice Storm in North Carolina, February 3, 2005
Start: 2005-02-03T03:00
End: 2005-02-03T10:00
Location: North Carolina

February 3, 2005 · NWS GSP · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Scattered damage to trees and power lines began to occur across the mountains during the pre-dawn hours, and continued into mid-morning, as freezing rain fell.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 3

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.

Scattered damage to trees and power lines began to occur across the mountains during the pre-dawn hours, and continued into mid-morning, as freezing rain fell.

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 2, 3:35 PM EST, 11 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 2, 3:35 PM EST, 11 hours 25 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 2, 6:12 AM EST, 20 hours 48 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
612 AM EST WED FEB 2 2005

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-031200-
ABBEVILLE SC-ALEXANDER NC-ANDERSON SC-AVERY NC-BUNCOMBE NC-BURKE NC-
CABARRUS NC-CALDWELL NC-CATAWBA NC-CHEROKEE SC-CHESTER SC-
CLEVELAND NC-DAVIE NC-ELBERT GA-FRANKLIN GA-GASTON NC-GRAHAM NC-
GREATER GREENVILLE SC-GREATER OCONEE SC-GREATER PICKENS SC-
GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS SC-GREENWOOD SC-HABERSHAM GA-HART GA-HAYWOOD NC-
HENDERSON NC-IREDELL NC-LAURENS SC-LINCOLN NC-MACON NC-MADISON NC-
MCDOWELL NC-MECKLENBURG NC-MITCHELL NC-NORTHERN JACKSON NC-
OCONEE MOUNTAINS SC-PICKENS MOUNTAINS SC-POLK NC-RABUN GA-ROWAN NC-
RUTHERFORD NC-SOUTHERN JACKSON NC-SPARTANBURG SC-STEPHENS GA-
SWAIN NC-TRANSYLVANIA NC-UNION SC-UNION NC-YANCEY NC-YORK SC-
612 AM EST WED FEB 2 2005

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

.DAY ONE...

LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE EAST ALONG THE GULF COAST TODAY...BRINGING A
WIDE RANGE OF VARIOUS PRECIPITATION TO OVERSPREAD THE AREA.  SNOW AND
SLEET WILL FALL IN THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS TODAY...WITH SOME
LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE IN THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS.  THE
PRECIPITATION IS NOT EXPECTED TO REACH THE NORTHWEST PIEDMONT OF
NORTH CAROLINA UNTIL LATE TODAY.  A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN
ISSUED FOR THIS MORNING TO EXPIRE AT NOON WHICH INCLUDES THE WESTERN
UPSTATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA...MOST OF EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA...AND
THE SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CAROLINA.  THIS INFORMATION IS
DETAILED IN PRODUCT...CAEWSWGSP.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

THE LOW PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TRACKING EAST ALONG THE GULF COAST
TONIGHT REACHING THE GEORGIA COAST ON THURSDAY.  A WINTER STORM WATCH
HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT INCLUDING MOST OF
THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS...THE NORTH CAROLINA FOOTHILLS AND THE
NORTHWEST PIEDMONT.  THIS IS DETAILED IN PRODUCT... CAEWSWGSP. A
WINTRY MIX WILL CONTINUE WITH ACCUMULATIONS AMOUNTING TO A FEW INCHES
ALONG AND NORTH OF I-40 ON THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT.  AMOUNTS WILL
LIKELY BE LESS CLOSER TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA BORDER.  MOTORISTS SHOULD
AVOID DRIVING IN THE WATCH AREA IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.  ALL SNOW WILL
END FRIDAY MORNING.

ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL REACH THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY.
NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE WELL INTO THE 30S AGAIN
WHICH COULD MAKE A MARGINAL WINTRY PRECIPITATION EVENT.  WE WILL
ADDRESS THIS EVENT WITH MORE DETAIL AS WE GET CLOSER TO THAT TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TO OBTAIN SNOW...SLEET OR FREEZING
RAIN AMOUNTS AROUND THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA
DURING THIS EVENT.

OUTLAW

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Mitchell

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

Ice Storm, Transylvania

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

Ice Storm, Henderson

When: February 3, 3:00 AM EST to 10:00 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

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

Every storm in North Carolina in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, February 2005

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5441943, 5441944, 5441945.