February is ticking by at a pretty fast clip and snow-lovers in the Piedmont are wondering if we'll see a good snow this year.
While I can't pin that down at this point, we are seeing some signals for colder temperatures and an active precipitation pattern.
The big question is if we can get the cold air and the precipitation to overlap and dance, like they did in 2004.
One of the biggest North Carolina snow events I've been a part of took place February 26 through early February 27, 2004.
By North Carolina standards, this was a monster snowstorm. It was a two-hit sort of deal.
The first round of snow unfolded during the day on February 26th, and the second hit arrived late night on the 26th through the early morning of the 27th.
The overall convective nature of the storm (thunder snow) late on the 26th cranked up some really heavy snowfall across our area. Snowfall rates were pushing some 2-3" an hour at times, and the totals really piled up for the Charlotte and mountain zones.
We saw 12-17" of snow in the Charlotte metro zone. Some the heaviest snow fell across southern and southeastern Mecklenburg County.
Western Burke and Caldwell counties, in the foothills, saw upwards of 18" of snow, while Asheville only received 5" of snow. Northern Stanly county, east of Charlotte, reported almost 20" of snow.
We had several reports of structural collapse because of the snow's weight.
So, will we see anything remotely close to that in the coming weeks? It's doubtful we'll re-live that same setup again, but February through early March is often our best window for snow here in southern Piedmont.
For our mountain friends, it's been a spectacular season of snow thus far. The ski industry is having one of its best seasons in quite some time.
