Day-After Christmas Snow in Western NC!
Having not paid attention to the weather situation overnight, I was a little surprised this morning to see the photo below from ToxawayTiger on the AccuWeather.com Weather Photo Gallery:
Had I read Frank Strait's Blog (PREMIUM | PRO) last night though I would have seen that light snow had been reported off and on in parts of Western North Carolina since noon on Christmas. Sure enough, it was cold enough in some parts of western North Carolina (central and southern mountains, for example Lake Toxaway [Google Map], where the photo above was taken) for some of that rain from the coastal storm to turn to snow. The event has gone unreported thus far on NWS Spotter Reports, though according to ADCPRO, snow was reported this morning at Asheville, Jefferson, and even at eastern stations Kinston, Ahoskie, and Kenansville (not sure about those). The amounts of snow were so small and isolated that they did not show up on our Snow/Ice/Rain radar this morning.
6 AM OBSERVATIONS, ALL STATIONS REPORTING SNOW ANY TIME HIGHLIGHTED
The Asheville Citizen Times reported yesterday: "Rain, sleet and snow started falling in spots around the region Tuesday afternoon and evening." The snow is ongoing this morning; the NWS reports"UP TO AN INCH OF SNOW CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE BOONE AREA...WITH CLOSER TO 2 INCHES ANTICIPATED ACROSS ASHE COUNTY AS WELL AS THE HIGHER TERRAIN NEAR THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY."
Here are webcam views from Mount Mitchell [Google Map] and Shining Rock Wilderness (Cold Mountain) [Google Map] this morning:
