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I have lived in Cary since 2001. The biggest snowfall since then occurred in 2009, when 8 inches fell. Before that, 2 feet fell in 2000. Can anyone remember other large snowstorms that hit this area? (Please give the depth, and it doesn't matter when it happened, as long as it was in this area.)
Are you saying 8" total in Cary, or an 8" snowstorm? I remember we got a 3" snowstorm in early March (maybe up to 5" in other parts of the Triangle?). I think RDU records 7" annually on average, based on the 50-year averages.
I think we have a good chance at having an average year, maybe a little more than average. I have nothing to back that up. I could easily deal with 10" of snow on average. Living in Northern Va, we only averaged 20" a year, but in the last 10 years have had more than 3 storms there by themselves over 20". Then we might have gone some years with mayabe only a few dustings.
My favorite was January 8, 1996. We got something like 20". A fine sunday morning which I remember the day well, because I walked 4 miles into work at Duke (snow over the bumper of the car), took a few pictures in the gardens, and then realized there was supposed to be a basketball game against Georgia Tech (Stephon Marbury's freshman year). I walked over there, and they were waving anyone who showed up through the door in. Probably about 500 people in total at the game, sat at midcourt, 2nd row with my feet up on the first row and back resting on the third, nobody else within 20 feet of me. Good times.
The same page someone posted for the snow "events" lists major ice storms, too (Dec 4, 2002 is the "big one" in recent history). To answer your question: we do seem to be in a band where we tend to get ice a lot when there is snow just north of us and rain just south, but I would not say ice storms are "common".
Quote:
Originally Posted by toot68
My favorite was January 8, 1996. We got something like 20". A fine sunday morning which I remember the day well, because I walked 4 miles into work at Duke (snow over the bumper of the car), took a few pictures in the gardens, and then realized there was supposed to be a basketball game against Georgia Tech (Stephon Marbury's freshman year). I walked over there, and they were waving anyone who showed up through the door in. Probably about 500 people in total at the game, sat at midcourt, 2nd row with my feet up on the first row and back resting on the third, nobody else within 20 feet of me. Good times.
The only time we've had 20" in this area was in 2000. According to the (cool, I agree) NWS website posted earlier in the thread, the snowfall on the date you mention was 4-6" in the Triangle.
What I meant was that there was 8" in our back yard in Cary. There was 7" in our front yard's deepest spot.
We do get ice storms here, but they are not as common as snow. More often, we get freezing rain and sleet that results in minor ice accumulation and some slick spots. Right now, for example, all the ponds are frozen, and some confined areas where water runoff is occurring have 1/4 inch of ice.
Francois, it is true that most of the Triangle saw half a foot or slightly less, but there was quite a bit of wind, so maybe I was just lucky and it blew some onto my yard.
The Inauguration Day Snowfall of 2009 is easily considered a snowstorm, since it brought windy conditions and more than a half a foot of snow in some areas. (We call snowstorms by lower elevation North Carolina standards. Half a foot would be a dusting in places with lake effect snow and areas like that.)
Francois, it is true that most of the Triangle saw half a foot or slightly less, but there was quite a bit of wind, so maybe I was just lucky and it blew some onto my yard.
Huh?? I wasn't even responding to you--I was responding to the message I quoted, referring to a storm in 1996 (before you moved here).
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