2 dead amid winter storm that brought record-setting snow and freezing temperatures to the South
At least two people have died in a weekend snowstorm that unleashed record-setting snowfall on North Carolina and freezing temperatures on Florida.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein reported over 1,000 collisions resulting in two fatalities across the state over the weekend. Stein did not share any details about the victims.
State officials advised residents to stay off the roads if they can.
“Please be patient and please stay off the roads unless it’s absolutely necessary,” North Carolina Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson said. “If you do have to drive, slow down and give other cars, our teams and other first responders lots of distance.”
Residents of North Carolina woke up Sunday to record-setting snowfall, with some areas reporting over 20 inches of accumulation. Snowfall totals across the state include 22.5 inches in Faust, 16 inches in Lexington, 12 inches in Jacksonville and 11 inches in Charlotte, marking the fourth-largest single-day snowfall and biggest snow event since 2004. Northeastern and coastal communities were hit particularly hard, according to the NCDOT.
A house along the coast in Buxton was washed away by surging waters Sunday morning, generating more concern about coastal properties amid this weekend’s storm. The National Park Service said that dozens of houses in the area sustained damage as a result of the storm.
Fresh, powdery snow measuring up to 10 inches could be seen in Newport, North Carolina, and on the runways of Raleigh-Durham International Airport overnight.
Snow covers Charlotte, N.C., during Winter Storm Gianna on Saturday.Peter Zay / Anadolu via Getty Images
Stein warned that in addition to snow, black ice will also be a risk throughout the week due to below-freezing overnight temperatures.
“Today is a special day for North Carolina because we just don’t get snow like this very often. So, have fun, stay off the roads and stay safe,” Stein said.
Meanwhile, in South Carolina, about 0.7 inch of snow fell at Charleston International Airport on Saturday, breaking the daily snow record of 0.6 inch that was set in 1977, according to the National Weather Service field office in Charleston.
The state’s Department of Public Safety asked residents to stay home to avoid dangerous road conditions.
“We’re seeing an increase of service calls for cars losing control and in ditches across a large portion of the Upstate, northern Midlands and Pee Dee,” DPS said.
Rare light snow flurries were seen early Sunday morning in Tampa Bay, Florida, near the city’s National Weather Service field office.
This weather system is currently located off the East Coast, strengthening as it moves north.
Snow covers Charlotte, N.C., during Winter Storm Gianna on Saturday.Peter Zay / Anadolu via Getty Images
Light snow continued to fall over parts of eastern Massachusetts Sunday afternoon. A dusting of up to 2 inches will be possible along Cape Cod through early Monday morning.
The main issue from this system for the rest of the day will be intense wind gusts that will linger until Monday. Gusts of 50-60 mph will be possible, especially along the coast. These strong wind gusts could lead to 2 to 4 feet of inundation along the Outer Banks of North Carolina and 1 to 2 feet near Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Over 160,000 utility customers across the South were without power Sunday morning, including 56,600 in Mississippi, 44,100 in Tennessee and 25,990 in Florida.
February chill
Numerous record lows were set this weekend across the Southeast, specifically in Florida, where Sanford, Melbourne and Daytona Beach set both daily and February record lows.
On Saturday, a record low temperature of minus 9 degrees was reported in Columbus, Ohio, beating the 2004 record of minus 6 degrees, according to the weather service field office in Wilmington. Islip, New York, reported a record low of 0, breaking the 2019 record of 3 degrees.
Around 52 million remain under cold weather alerts through Sunday afternoon as high temperatures stay 10 to 25 degrees below average. Current wind chills are in the 30s to 40s across Florida, and the teens and 20s in Georgia and the Carolinas.
Windy conditions due to the strong coastal low will bring significantly cold wind chills throughout the eastern half of the country. It will feel like the temperatures are in the teens across much of the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and East Coast, with single digits to below zero in the interior Northeast.
On Sunday night, lows will dip to the single digits and below zero for much of the Midwest and Northeast and to the teens and 20s as far south as the Gulf Coast. Dozens of record lows are possible again Monday morning, including in Daytona Beach, Key West, Gainesville and Miami, Florida; Wilmington and Charlotte, North Carolina; and Columbia and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Although the extreme cold will ease by the start of the week, temperatures will generally stay 5 to 15 degrees below average for the eastern half of the country into next weekend.
