Winter Storm — Marion, South Carolina

2014-02-11 to 2014-02-13 · Marion, South Carolina

Event narrative

Freezing rain began falling the morning of February 11th. The freezing rain continued intermittently before ending the morning of the 13th. About an inch of ice accumulation was reported. Driving was treacherous if not impossible. Many power outages occurred due to downed power lines and branches from the ice. A woman was found dead in her home in the town of Marion. She died of hypothermia.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure formed along a nearly stationary frontal boundary over northern Florida on February 11th, with a strong and large area of high pressure to the north. Precipitation began as snow from the I-95 corridor and points west, with mainly sleet and freezing rain reported east of I-95. The northwest portion of the region received over five inches of snow. Over the course of a couple of days, the storm transitioned to mainly an ice event, with nearly an inch of ice reported over interior portions of northeast South Carolina, with lesser amounts over southeast North Carolina. In addition to creating extremely hazardous driving conditions, major power outages were reported due to downed limbs and power lines. Low pressure finally moved up the eastern seaboard and out of the region during the day on February 13th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 502279. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.