Winter Storm — Vance, North Carolina

2021-02-12 to 2021-02-13 · Vance, North Carolina

Event narrative

One-quarter to one-half of an inch of ice from freezing rain downed numerous trees across the county, causing numerous power outages.

Wider weather episode

An area of low pressure tracked along a stalled frontal zone to the south of central NC and eventually north-northeastward along the North Carolina coast. Meanwhile, strong surface high pressure extended south-southwestward and into central North Carolina from the northeast United States. This setup resulted in widespread precipitation developing on the morning of the 12th and continuing into the 13th, with a cold air damming airmass developing. This allowed for temperatures to evaporatively cool, with temperatures falling below freezing across the northern Piedmont and northern Coastal Plain. This allowed for freezing rain to occur in this area. Ice accrual range from trace amounts to a couple of hundredths of an inch around the Triangle area, to a quarter to a half inch of ice accrual in Triad region and along/near the North Carolina-Virginia border. Impacts were limited to the Triad and North Carolina-Virginia border counties, where numerous accidents, power outages, and tress down were reported.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 946394. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.