Heavy Snow in Greater Caldwell, North Carolina

An intensifying cyclone off the Southeast coast and cold air damming combined to produce heavy snow and occasional sleet along and near the eastern Blue Ridge escarpment. Rain mixed with sleet developed across the Blue Ridge mountains and North Carolina foothills during the evening, then changed to mainly sleet in most areas. Up to a quarter inch of sleet accumulated during the late evening and early morning hours. Precipitation then changed mostly to rain in most areas, before transitioning to snow during the pre-dawn hours of the 7th. As heavy snow continued to fall across the foothills and Blue Ridge mountains in North Carolina throughout the morning, heavy accumulations of snow became common. The region of heavy snowfall accumulation was confined to a very narrow corridor along the Blue Ridge south of I-40, but became more widespread across the northern mountains and foothills. Total snowfall accumulation generally ranged from 4-6 inches in these areas, with locally higher amounts reported in some high elevation locations near the Blue Ridge. This was in addition to the quarter inch or so of sleet that fell earlier in the morning. Meanwhile, accumulations were quite a bit lower in the areas of the northern mountains adjacent to the Tennessee border. The snow changed back to rain in most areas before ending late in the morning.