Winter Storm — Inland New Hanover, North Carolina

2022-01-21 to 2022-01-22 · Inland New Hanover, North Carolina

Event narrative

Significant ice accumulations occurred due to freezing rain before sleet mixed in overnight and finishing with a brief dusting of snow. 0.1-0.25 of ice observed across the county, with 0.25 officially measured at the NWS Wilmington office. Multiple cars were abandoned overnight at Martin Luther King Jr Pkwy and College Rd. Several roads closed in Wilmington due to ice, including a long stretch of MLK Parkway. Little under 2000 power outages reported overnight, including from a downed power line in downtown Wilmington. Several car crashes reported due to ice on roads with no injuries. All flights to Wilmington International Airport cancelled Friday night, with departures delayed Saturday morning.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure off the coast led to wintry precipitation across the area. Began as freezing rain before switching to snow inland where several inches of snow fell. Freezing rain lingered near the coast leading to accumulating ice up to 0.25 before changing to sleet overnight and ending as brief snow by early morning.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 997083. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.