North Carolina, 2018

Winter Weather in North Carolina, March 13 to 14, 2018

March 13 to 14, 2018 · NWS GSP · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Snow showers developed across portions of the central mountains in response to a strong and moist northwest flow developing in the wake of a cold front. While snow showers were initially light, they increased in intensity, becoming moderate to occasionally heavy during the pre-dawn hours.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

Snow showers developed across portions of the central mountains in response to a strong and moist northwest flow developing in the wake of a cold front. While snow showers were initially light, they increased in intensity, becoming moderate to occasionally heavy during the pre-dawn hours. The largest impact was along and near the I-26 corridor north of I-40, where 2 to 4 inches, with locally higher amounts fell across much of Madison County and northern portions of Buncombe County. A large portion of that fell in only a 2 or 3 hour period around daybreak. Meanwhile, amounts across much of Haywood County and southern Buncombe County amounted to little more than a heavy dusting, although some heavier totals were reported in the higher elevations of Haywood County.

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 Mar 13, 6:40 PM EST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 13, 6:40 PM EST, 20 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 13, 2:06 PM EST, 4 hours 54 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 13, 2:47 PM EST, 4 hours 13 minutes before
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Local storm report, Mar 13, 2:51 PM EST, 4 hours 9 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 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Madison

When
March 13, 7:00 PM EST to March 14, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
35.858, -82.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Haywood

When
March 13, 7:00 PM EST to March 14, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Haywood forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
35.556, -82.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Buncombe

When
March 13, 7:00 PM EST to March 14, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Buncombe forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
35.611, -82.530 (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 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, March 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: 745634, 745635, 745636.