North Carolina, 2012

Winter Weather in North Carolina, December 21 to 22, 2012

December 21 to 22, 2012 · NWS GSP · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Snow showers developed behind a cold front along the far western mountains of North Carolina during the morning, and continued off and on through the day and night of the 21st. Total accumulations generally ranged from a dusting to around 3 inches, although some higher totals occurred in the high elevations along and near the Tennessee border.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

Snow showers developed behind a cold front along the far western mountains of North Carolina during the morning, and continued off and on through the day and night of the 21st. Total accumulations generally ranged from a dusting to around 3 inches, although some higher totals occurred in the high elevations along and near the Tennessee border.

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 21, 3:48 AM EST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 21, 3:48 AM EST, 1 hour 12 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 20, 12:24 PM EST, 16 hours 36 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 21, 1:00 AM EST, 4 hours 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

4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Avery

When
December 21, 5:00 AM EST to December 22, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Avery forecast zone
Reported by
County Official
Coordinates
36.077, -81.922 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Mitchell

When
December 21, 5:00 AM EST to December 22, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Mitchell forecast zone
Reported by
County Official
Coordinates
36.013, -82.163 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Yancey

When
December 21, 5:00 AM EST to December 22, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Yancey forecast zone
Reported by
County Official
Coordinates
35.899, -82.308 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Madison

When
December 21, 5:00 AM EST to December 22, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Reported by
County Official
Coordinates
35.858, -82.706 (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 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, December 2012

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: 423386, 423387, 423388, 423389.