Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in Mcdowell Mountains, North Carolina

An arctic cold front swept across the North Carolina mountains during the morning of the 23rd and introduced the coldest air mass in more than 5 years. Valley temperatures in the single digits and lower teens combined with 10 to 20 mph winds to produce wind chill values in the 0 to -20 range throughout the 23rd and especially during the morning of Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, air temperatures around or below 0 across the high elevations resulted in wind chill values as low as -40 above 3500 feet. While winds abated throughout Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, the cold weather persisted, and even some valley locations saw air temperatures remained below freezing for the better part of four days. There were numerous reports of frozen and burst pipes along with mostly minor damage to infrastructure throughout the area.