Upstate Tiger

The 3/1/1980 storm was a bit of a disappointment in the upstate. Friday the 29th was sunny and temp climbed to 60. NWS issued a WSW that afternoon and forecast of temp falling to 30 by morning and remaining steady or falling through Saturday, with 8”-10” of snow. The temp was at 30 at daybreak and did drop through the day. But a warm nose kept the upstate sleet all day. We accumulated a couple inches of sleet. Every time it transitioned to snow and we thought the changeover had occurred, it would go back to sleet. We were slightly saved by a ULL that night that gave us a quick 2”-3”. So not a total bust.

This pattern reminds me an awful lot of January 77. There's a misconception that we had a lot of snow that month but the cold was the real story. It is still the coldest month on record at GSP. The highest temperature recorded at GSP for the month was 50 degrees. 77/78, 78/79, and 79/80 were the trifecta for SE winter storms. 01/3/77 - 1"-2" of snow in the upstate 1/10/77 - Superbowl Sunday, 3"-4" in the upstate, brutal cold the following week 1/15/77 - ice storm 1/17/77 - famous (or infamous) cold wave. Temps in the low to mid teen in the upstate during the day. 1/24/77 - 5" of snow February and March turned warm with above normal temps, so it was really a 4 week stretch that changed the record books. Side note, February 80 is still the coldest February on record in the upstate.

I am happy with what the models are showing at this point. Personally I would like to see an earlier phase and a Miller A evolution for those of us in the western parts of NC and SC. But I am greedy that way...

Now it’s serious. A triple dog dare. Josh committed a slight breach in etiquette by skipping the double dog dare and going straight for the throat.

Pretty memorable storm. If for no other reason than the vast size of the storm and the amazing CAD. I’ve followed winter storms in the SE for over 50 years and they are all unique. Fun tracking with you guys and gals! Now on to the next one. Have a feeling this winter still holds some surprises.

Is this for real?

Heavy sleet in Lincolnton as the line starts to move through.

Radar doesn’t look impressive but we’re getting the heaviest snow and sleet since really early this morning.

West Lincoln this morning. 18 degrees. Mostly sleet.

Next weekend’s potential storm is suppressed. As others have said, probably a good thing at this range. The crazy thing on the models long range is one clipper after another after another. We are going to see some frozen bodies of water that haven’t been frozen in decades.

Snow and 24. Looks like about an inch.

Snow and 21 in Lincolnton. Ground white.

This is some of the stoutest CAD I’ve ever observed. The source cold is insane.

Must have had a little bit of drizzle that coated my truck in the last hour. 24/14 here in West Lincoln.

I remember that happening in the upstate in the late 70s

GSP has issued an Ice Storm Warning for my area in Lincoln County (NC Piedmont).

06z GFS and Euro seemed honed in on the evolution of the storm with GFS still faster. Both show front end snow for NC and then the fun begins. Didn’t check thermals. Got to get to the hospital for storm prep. NAM…IDK what it’s doing.

Lots of below zero readings forecast for western NC.

Absolutely insane cold temps across the Midwest and Northeast this weekend as this storm is occurring. Lots of below zero readings. Been a long time since I’ve seen this kind of cold and it looks locked in for a few weeks.

Wouldn't that cool and moisten the column and potentially give us a better front end thump of snow? I know I'm grasping...

30 straight hours of precip for NC.

Quickly goes over to ice but closer to GFS

Euro with a little front end snow at 60 for NC

Euro and GFS surface reflections look very similar at 54 with timing and precip types.

I knew this thing would correct back to the SE…oh crap. That’s next weekend.