North Carolina, 2013

Heavy Snow in North Carolina, February 2 to 3, 2013

February 2 to 3, 2013 · NWS GSP · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Snow developed across Madison and Yancey counties during the early evening and continued off and on through the morning of the 3rd. By the late morning, heavy snowfall accumulations were reported in many locations.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 GSP wrote it up.

Snow developed across Madison and Yancey counties during the early evening and continued off and on through the morning of the 3rd. By the late morning, heavy snowfall accumulations were reported in many locations. Snow showers, heavy at times continued through much of the 3rd before tapering off by during the evening. Total accumulations ranged from 3-5 inches in most valley locations to as much as a foot in the higher elevations.

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, 5:15 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 2, 5:15 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 2, 5:25 PM EST, 1 hour 35 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 2, 4:36 PM EST, 2 hours 24 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
436 PM EST SAT FEB 02 2013

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0431 PM     SNOW             4 WNW MOUNTAIN CITY     34.93N  83.45W
02/02/2013  E2.0 INCH        RABUN              GA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            ROADS SLUSHY.

&&

MCAVOY
Local storm report, Feb 2, 6:05 PM EST, 55 minutes before
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Local storm report, Feb 2, 6:06 PM EST, 54 minutes before
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Local storm report, Feb 2, 6:08 PM EST, 52 minutes before
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Local storm report, Feb 2, 6:21 PM EST, 39 minutes before
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Local storm report, Feb 2, 6:44 PM EST, 16 minutes 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

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Madison

When
February 2, 7:00 PM EST to February 3, 8:00 PM EST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
35.858, -82.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Yancey

When
February 2, 7:00 PM EST to February 3, 8:00 PM EST
Where
Yancey forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
35.899, -82.308 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, February 2013

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: 436057, 436058.