Folk

SE North Carolina

Folk

Dreaming of a winter wonderland...

Southeastern North Carolina rarely sees snow, so when it does, it’s big news. The left photo shows a young man in downtown Goldsboro in 1927, while the right is from Wilmington in 1989. The Christmas Snowstorm in 1989 still holds the record for the most snowfall in Wilmington, 15.3 inches.

Ihave experienced exactly one white Christmas in my lifetime. Of course, growing up in Southeastern North Carolina, it’s amazing I’ve even had that one.

But I do remember that one particularly well. Te National Weather Service calls it the “Coastal Christmas Snowstorm of December 22-24, 1989.” It snowed a lot. I remember our dog walking through the snowdrifts and I could only see his tail. I was 14, so Santa didn’t visit, but there was still something so magical about the snow falling and warming by the fire with the light from the Christmas tree.

It was the largest snowstorm in history for the Southeast U.S. coast. Te National Weather Service says, “Tis storm broke all-time snowfall records in Wilmington (15.3 inches), Cape Hatteras (13.3 inches), Charleston (8 inches), and Savannah (3.6 inches).”

Wow —15.3 inches in Wilmington! Tat’s insane. Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point recorded 16 inches during that storm, while MCAS New River in Jacksonville had 12.7 inches. Clinton and Warsaw recorded 10 inches, and Kinston got a mere 6-7 inches.

Good thing we were already out of school for Christmas break. We would’ve missed weeks of school!

Of course, 1989 isn’t the only time our state has seen a blizzard. In 1980, a record winter storm hit Southeastern N.C. on March 1-2.

“Widespread snowfall totals of 12- 18 inches were observed over Eastern North Carolina, with localized amounts ranging up to 22 inches at Morehead City and 25 inches at Elizabeth City, with unofficial reports of up to 30 inches at Emerald Isle and Cherry Point,” the National Weather Service reports. “Tis was one of the great snowstorms in Eastern North Carolina history. What made this storm so remarkable was the combination of snow, high winds, and very cold temperatures.”

Blizzards also occurred in Wilmington in February 1973, which dropped 12.5 inches, and in February 1896, measuring 12.1 inches.

A more inland snowstorm in 1927 also blanketed Southeastern North Carolina in snow, with one photo from Goldsboro showing a young man standing with snow drifts reaching above his head.

I’ve always wanted to have another white Christmas. I’m no meteorologist, but I do have a feeling that this season, we’re going to get another winter storm. Of course, my feelings don’t account for much, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few snowflakes fall.

Te National Weather Service is noncommittal on my untrained prediction: “During a typical winter, minimum temperatures will drop into the upper teens or lower 20s at least once. Snow is a rare event across the coastal portions of North and South Carolina, only averaging 1 to 2 inches per year. Given the relatively weak magnitude of the factors affecting our climate this winter, it is not possible to predict how seasonal snowfall might vary from normal.”

I guess time will tell.

SE

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