Ice Storm — Rutherford Mountains, North Carolina

2016-02-15 to 2016-02-16 · Rutherford Mountains, North Carolina

Wider weather episode

Very light freezing rain, freezing drizzle, and freezing mist developed across the Blue Ridge of western North Carolina during late morning, in assocation with low pressure developing along a warm front across the Gulf Coast states/Tennesse Valley. Owing to about a week of unseasonably cold weather, the precipitation froze to surfaces very quickly, and roads became very slick, resulting in numerous traffic accidents. The freezing rain rates increased during the evening, and moderate to heavy freezing rain continued through the overnight hours. By the pre-dawn hours of the 16th, total ice accretion ranged from one-quarter to one-half inch across the area. This resulted in quite a few trees and power lines, with at least scattered power outages reported.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 614964. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.