Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 7 to 8, 2021

Name: Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 7 to 8, 2021
Start: 2021-01-07T20:00
End: 2021-01-08T14:00
Location: North Carolina

January 7 to 8, 2021 · NWS GSP · 15 events in 15 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 15 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: 15

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 the mountains and foothills of North Carolina during the evening of the 7th as an area of low pressure moved across the coastal plain of Georgia and the Carolinas. The snow mixed with or changed to rain in many areas before tapering off during the daylight hours of the 9th. Total accumulations were generally in the 1 to 3 inch range, although some areas above 2500 feet or so saw as much as 4 inches.

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 7, 6:37 PM EST, 1 hour 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 7, 6:37 PM EST, 1 hour 23 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 7, 3:44 PM EST, 4 hours 16 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 7, 4:21 PM EST, 3 hours 39 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jan 7, 7:55 PM EST, 5 minutes before

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
755 PM EST Thu Jan 7 2021

NCZ068>072-082-508-510-SCZ009-014-080500-
Cleveland-Lincoln-Gaston-Mecklenburg-Cabarrus-Union NC-
Greater Rutherford-Eastern Polk-York-Chester-
Including the cities of Shelby, Kings Mountain, Lincolnton,
Crouse, Gastonia, Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews, Concord,
Kannapolis, Monroe, Trinity, Indian Trail, Weddington,
Forest City, Rutherfordton, Spindale, Tryon, Columbus,
Mill Spring, Catawba, Rock Hill, Blackstock, Chester, Cornwell,
and Great Falls
755 PM EST Thu Jan 7 2021

...RAIN MIXED WITH WINTRY PRECIPITATION WILL SPREAD OVER THE
EASTERN UPSTATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CHARLOTTE METRO AREA
THROUGH LATE EVENING...

A large shield of light to moderate rainfall will spread across
the I-77 corridor in the Piedmont of the Carolinas, and also
across the southern foothills of western North Carolina, from the
southwest through late evening. While the precipitation will fall
mainly as rain, snow and sleet will be observed during the
heaviest precipitation. With temperatures mainly in the upper 30s,
no accumulations are currently expected on the ground, but slush
could develop on some elevated surfaces.

HG

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Yancey

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

Winter Weather, Swain

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Swain forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.487, -83.493 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Buncombe

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Buncombe forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 35.611, -82.530 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Haywood

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM 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, Graham

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Graham forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.350, -83.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southern Jackson

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.287, -83.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Transylvania

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Transylvania forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.202, -82.798 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Henderson

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Henderson forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 35.336, -82.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Greater Caldwell

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Greater Caldwell forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.953, -81.546 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Greater Burke

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Greater Burke forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.750, -81.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, McDowell Mountains

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: McDowell Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.681, -82.049 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern McDowell

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern McDowell forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.681, -82.049 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Rutherford Mountains

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Rutherford Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.402, -81.920 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Polk Mountains

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Polk Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.279, -82.170 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Eastern Polk

When: January 7, 8:00 PM EST to January 8, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Polk forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 35.279, -82.170 (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

Every storm in North Carolina in 2021 Every state in 2021 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, January 2021

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: 940716, 940717, 940718, 940719, 940724, 940726, 940727, 940728, 940729, 940730, 940731, 940732, 940733, 940734, 940735.