Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Raleigh. Where did you think I was talking about? (no smart allecky tone intended)
Didn't know, maybe Boone or Blowing Rock? I was out of the state at that time and was unaware of the Raleigh storm. The 24-hour record for Asheville is 16.5" from March of 1993.
The official state record for a 24-hour period is 36" inches on Mount Mitchell in Yancey County in March 13, 1993.
You know that snow isnt much of a big deal here when people talk about the "last big snow" and it was 6 years ago.
Hee We now caution ourselves about the advent of spring, saying "you remember that snow we had in 2004? 10 inches of snow on February 27! " However, it is such an anomaly that we get out the camera and take pictures whenever we get a few inches of snow, or ice, because we know that it will be gone in a day or two. We've sent pictures back to the family in St. Louis, who are non-plussed at our attitude. They remind us that they've had much worse weather and wonder why we are fussing at the 3 or 4 inches we got here. After all, don't we remember what it was like? We have to honestly say "no". We've forgotten what "real winter" is like
I remember in 1980 they predicted we were going to get 2 inches of snow. Well, this was April when this happened so we were, "Yea right." Well, we got 2 feet in the first week of April of this stuff. And if you think 2 inches brings the town to a screeching halt, 2 feet nearly buried the place. I can remember my ex husband "hitch hiking a ride" with a tractor to get into to town to get milk for a baby we had. That had to be hands down one of the worse snow storms we have had since I was born in the area. We also had a huge ice storm in 1968 that closed everything down for about 2 weeks. And yes we were without power all that time as well.
It may snow once in a blue moon but that is the point: once in a blue moon.
Take our winter up here two years ago -- PLEASE. Seemed like it was snowing every other day and we broke records. This alternated with below-zero temps. We are done with it and gladly so.
Unfortunately, with respect to the illegal immigrant issue, we as a country either haven't smartened up sufficiently or are on the path to self-destruction. It is everywhere and only the nationalities change. Boston had a bunch of illegal Irish protesting. I'm for sending THEM back, too!
I agree. The NC area will definitely grow like CA and FL. I'm moving from FL and considering NC because I can't afford the NJ/NY area I grew up in. I'm also a single mother and don't think I could physically handle all the snow in NY. I would prefer that area but alas it comes down to convenience. I moved to FL for my mother. I have hated it every minute of it.
Ok so I am just curious mertweed. If you hate Florida so, and you see NC becoming another Florida soon (as do I) Why do you want to come here? Why not any other state?
Oh yeah, and that icetorm 3 years ago here left me without power for a week. 1.5 inches of solid ice on everything. NC's location actually makes it more prone to icestorms than many areas north and south of it. There wasn't a yard in my neighborhood that didn't have at least one tree down. As was the same in Fran, which I am guessing most on this forum haven't lived here long enough to remember. (fran was bout 100 times worse though)
Last edited by just_sayin'; 05-02-2006 at 01:43 PM..
Oh I remember Fran. I was where I am now when Fran came roaring. Actually, I am in the same county of NC that I am in now when Hazel came roaring through in 1954. Granted I was only 3 when Hazel came in but I do remember some of the reactions of the adults around me. I have an aunt that is terrified of thunder storms. And she was basically running around and crying and wringing her hands that we were all going to died. Well, we didn't. And while some of the adults have passed on since then, none of them died from anything but natural causes. We also got hit hard by Floyd. Not me personally but 3/4 of the county lost everything they had. I somehow missed the ice storm or at least the doing without power for an extended length of time in recent history. We had one winter not too long ago that it snowed about every other week. About the time we got rid of one round of it, it would snow again. I don't think we had any measureable snow at all this winter to speak of.
Wasn't Fran the first or second of many that particular year (can't remember the year)? Up here in NJ, we've had some doozies of hurricanes but for every bad one we get, it seems like the south gets 3. It's terrible.
In my lifetime, I remember being hit hard and fast by David, it seemed to have come out of nowhere (I think in 80' or 81', I was about 6 and my mother was screaming at us to get off our bikes, everyone was running around grabbing kids and next thing you know, our tree was down in the yard). I also remember Gloria, we got stuck in school until parents showed up to retrieve their kids. Floyd, my basement flooded and it was terrible rain and wind, huge parts of Northern NJ were flooded for weeks and businesses were down (AT&T especially...nobody could contact anyone, FEMA came in, that might actually be a first for exactly how bad we had it weather-wise) There were more but I can't remember the names off-hand, so maybe they weren't that significant to us.
I know what we've lived through and that's almost nothing in comparison...I truly can't imagine the horror, tragedy or hardship that people further south have endured from these storms (look at the Katrina survivors and what they've endured). But one thing I've noticed is that you all do pull together during time of need, can't always say that about up here (except maybe Floyd and 9/11).
Last edited by pixieshmoo; 05-02-2006 at 03:50 PM..
Hurricane Fran slammed into North Carolina's southern coast on September 5th, 1996 with sustained winds of approximately 115 MPH, and gusts as high as 125 MPH. At some point, 1.7 million customers in North Carolina and 400,000 customers in Virginia lost electricity. The overall death toll was 37, including 24 in North Carolina. Flooding was also a severe problem in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. Fran produced rainfall amounts of over 10 inches in parts of eastern North Carolina and western Virginia.
Damages for homes and businesses in North Carolina (NC) were estimated at approximately $2.3 billion. Damages/costs related to public property (debris removal, roads and bridges, public buildings, utilities, etc) were estimated at about $1.1 billion for NC. Agricultural damage (crops, livestock, buildings) in NC was over $700 million. Wake County (Raleigh and vicinity) alone reported over $900 million in damage to residential and commercial property. Finally, forestry/timber losses for the state probably exceeded $1 billion.
Taken collectively, total damages/costs for NC are estimated at approximately $5 billion. With the addition of lesser damages for states to the north, the storm's total cost was well in excess of $5 billion, making Fran the third most costly hurricane in U.S. history at that time, moving Opal (1995) into fourth place. However, it's important to note that the figures for earlier storms are not adjusted for inflation.
Just prior to landfall of Fran, a small portion of western North Carolina-- in the Bat Cave, Chimney Rock, Lake Lure areas--received up to 11 inches of rain in a 3 hour period. The rains were the result of nearly stationary, very heavy thunderstorms associated with an upper level low pressure system. Severe damage to property in the immediate area resulted, with about 70 homes/businesses destroyed or significantly damaged.
The one thing I have always thought unimaginable that meteoroligists say could easily happen; is a Cat. 5 hurricane hitting the NC coast around Wilmington, and taking the same path as Fran. If it hit with winds of 170 on the coast, it would probably still have sustained winds of 120 when it got here to Raleigh. Fran was a cat 1 down from a cat 3 when it hit here. So a cat 5 would still be a cat 3!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We now caution ourselves about the advent of spring, saying "you remember that snow we had in 2004? 10 inches of snow on February 27! 
" However, it is such an anomaly that we get out the camera and take pictures whenever we get a few inches of snow, or ice, because we know that it will be gone in a day or two. We've sent pictures back to the family in St. Louis, who are non-plussed at our attitude. They remind us that they've had much worse weather and wonder why we are fussing at the 3 or 4 inches we got here. After all, don't we remember what it was like? We have to honestly say "no". We've forgotten what "real winter" is like 
