North Carolina, 2016

Winter Weather in North Carolina, December 17, 2016

December 17, 2016 · NWS GSP · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Patchy light freezing drizzle and freezing fog developed during the early morning across the southern North Carolina Piedmont. A couple of dozen traffic accidents, with at least one fatal accident were reported throughout the Charlotte metro area.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
5

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.

Patchy light freezing drizzle and freezing fog developed during the early morning across the southern North Carolina Piedmont. A couple of dozen traffic accidents, with at least one fatal accident were reported throughout the Charlotte metro area. Conditions improved as temperatures warmed above freezing during the late morning and afternoon.

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 16, 9:55 PM EST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 9:55 PM EST, 2 hours 5 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

5 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Cabarrus

When
December 17, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where
Cabarrus forecast zone
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
35.387, -80.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Gaston

When
December 17, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where
Gaston forecast zone
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
35.294, -81.180 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Lincoln

When
December 17, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where
Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
35.486, -81.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Mecklenburg

When
December 17, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where
Mecklenburg forecast zone
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
35.247, -80.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Union

When
December 17, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where
Union forecast zone
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
34.988, -80.531 (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 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, December 2016

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: 671525, 671526, 671527, 671528, 671529.