SouEaster: Snow Records, Thundersnow
UPDATE: 7 PM (SEE ALSO T-STORM UPDATE BELOW): The NWS has issued this statement (future permalink):
At 9 AM today, I reported:
Snow and sleet is now being reported at Pope and Mackall Air Force Bases in North Carolina. And... drum roll please... the NWS [JessePedia] just issued this statement (future permalink):
Then this afternoon, Frank Strait stopped by with a link to photos from the Charleston event (impressive!) and pointed out that Savannah, Georgia also set a record:
1950 was the previous year of record for both stations. That's Global Warming for you (NOT!). I can't even call this thing a Nor'easter because it won't get out of Dixie, so I'll coin the term Sou'easter, at least for this blog entry anyway. This storm has really blown my mind.
The final (?) list of official NWS stations that snow has been recorded at today (all with temperatures of 36 or 37) is as follows. Asterisked sites also reported ice pellets (sleet).
Fayetteville, NC
Fort Bragg, NC
Pope AFB, NC*
Mackall AFB, NC*
Charleston, SC
Savannah, GA
Sylvania, GA
Columbia, SC
Sumter, SC
Now we turn our attention to severe thunderstorms which are approaching the Southeast coast of North Carolina. Here is an all-day radar loop (wait for it to download; drag the time bar to speed it up). I've been watching these storms all day and their look reminds me of storms in the NE quadrant a hurricane last year.
The SPC has issued a mesoscale discussion quoting:
UPDATE: 7 PM : A pretty nasty line of storms is training over the beaches of Onslow County, North Carolina:
The following wind gusts over 60 mph were observed today in or offshore of NC:
Pea Island: 67 mph
Kill Devil Hills: 62 mph
Rodanthe, NC: 61 mph
Duck, NC: 61 mph
