Ice Storm — Cherokee, South Carolina

2002-12-04 to 2002-12-05 · Cherokee, South Carolina

Wider weather episode

Freezing rain began across upstate South Carolina during the early afternoon of the 4th, and had spread into the eastern piedmont by mid afternoon. Resultant damage due to ice accumulation began during the mid-to-late afternoon. The intensity of the freezing rain increased after midnight, and by dawn on the 5th, devastating ice accumulations of 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches were observed, with the hardest hit areas being along the I-85 corridor, from Anderson, to Greenville-Spartanburg, to Gaffney. Hundreds of thousands lost power, and the outages lasted for as long as 2 weeks in some areas.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5326482. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.