North Carolina, 2016

Cold in North Carolina, January 18 to 19, 2016

January 18 to 19, 2016 · NWS GSP · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

An arctic cold front moved quickly across the North Carolina mountains during the evening of the 17th, bringing very cold air and gusty northwest winds to the region. Air temperatures in the teens and single digits combined with winds gusting to 30 to 40 mph to produce winds chills of -5 to -15 across much of the northern mountains.

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

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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.

An arctic cold front moved quickly across the North Carolina mountains during the evening of the 17th, bringing very cold air and gusty northwest winds to the region. Air temperatures in the teens and single digits combined with winds gusting to 30 to 40 mph to produce winds chills of -5 to -15 across much of the northern mountains. Some of the high peaks and ridge tops likely saw wind chills colder than -20. Although wind chills moderated as air temperatures warmed slightly during the afternoon of the 18th, they returned to the -5 to -15 range during the evening and persisted through the morning of the 19th.

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 Jan 18, 6:35 AM EST, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 18, 6:35 AM EST, 25 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 18, 6:05 AM EST, 55 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

3 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Avery

When
January 18, 7:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
Where
Avery forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
36.077, -81.922 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Mitchell

When
January 18, 7:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
Where
Mitchell forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
36.013, -82.163 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Yancey

When
January 18, 7:00 AM EST to January 19, 12:00 PM EST
Where
Yancey forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
35.899, -82.308 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill
Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

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, January 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 614353, 614354, 614355.