Heavy Snow in North Carolina, December 8 to 9, 2018

Name: Heavy Snow in North Carolina, December 8 to 9, 2018
Start: 2018-12-08T21:00
End: 2018-12-09T08:00
Location: North Carolina

December 8 to 9, 2018 · NWS GSP · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

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.

Rain and snow developed across the Great Smoky Mountains, the Nantahala Mountains, and surrounding areas during the evening of the 8th and continued into the overnight. While precipitation fell as mostly snow above 3500 feet or so, mostly rain (with snow mixing in at times) fell in the valleys. By daybreak on the 9th, accumulations of 2 to 5 inches were common in the high elevations, while valley accumulations were generally less than an inch.

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 8, 6:43 PM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 8, 6:43 PM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 8, 11:05 AM EST, 9 hours 55 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
1105 AM EST Sat Dec 8 2018

NCZ033-035>037-049-050-056-057-068>072-082-501>506-508-510-
SCZ005>009-091615-
Avery-Alexander-Iredell-Davie-Yancey-Mitchell-Catawba-Rowan-
Cleveland-Lincoln-Gaston-Mecklenburg-Cabarrus-Union-
Caldwell Mountains-Greater Caldwell-Burke Mountains-Greater Burke-
McDowell Mountains-Eastern McDowell-Greater Rutherford-Eastern Polk-
Greater Pickens-Greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Cherokee-York-
1105 AM EST Sat Dec 8 2018

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON EST
MONDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for piedmont North Carolina,
western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are requested to report snow and ice accumulations to our
office.

GAZ010-017-NCZ048-051>053-058-059-062>065-507-509-SCZ001>003-091615-
Rabun-Habersham-Madison-Swain-Haywood-Buncombe-Graham-
Northern Jackson-Macon-Southern Jackson-Transylvania-Henderson-
Rutherford Mountains-Polk Mountains-Oconee Mountains-
Pickens Mountains-Greenville Mountains-
1105 AM EST Sat Dec 8 2018

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON EST MONDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northeast Georgia, western
North Carolina and upstate South Carolina.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are requested to report snow and ice accumulations to our
office.

GAZ018-SCZ004-010-012>014-091615-
Stephens-Greater Oconee-Anderson-Laurens-Union-Chester-
1105 AM EST Sat Dec 8 2018

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM SUNDAY TO NOON EST
MONDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northeast Georgia and upstate
South Carolina.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are requested to report snow and ice accumulations to our
office.

GAZ026-028-029-SCZ011-019-091615-
Franklin-Hart-Elbert-Abbeville-Greenwood-
1105 AM EST Sat Dec 8 2018

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM SUNDAY TO NOON EST
MONDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northeast Georgia and upstate
South Carolina.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Weather Advisory.

In addition to the wintry weather, periods of heavy rain are possible
tonight. Isolated flooding may develop, especially in areas where
there is more rain than wintry mix.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Weather Advisory.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are requested to report snow and ice accumulations to our
office.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 8, 7:46 PM EST, 1 hour 14 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 8, 7:59 PM EST, 1 hour 1 minute before

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Local storm report, Dec 8, 8:01 PM EST, 59 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 8, 8:15 PM EST, 45 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 8, 8:31 PM EST, 29 minutes before

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Local storm report, Dec 8, 8:36 PM EST, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
836 PM EST SAT DEC 08 2018

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

0835 PM     SNOW             1 N SALUDA              35.24N  82.35W
12/08/2018  M4.7 INCH        POLK               NC   COCORAHS

            ALL SECONDARY ROADS COVERED WITH SNOW.

&&

TDP

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, Macon

When: December 8, 9:00 PM EST to December 9, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Macon forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.150, -83.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Swain

When: December 8, 9:00 PM EST to December 9, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Swain forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.487, -83.493 (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

Every storm in North Carolina in 2018 Every state in 2018 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, December 2018

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: 798073, 798074.