Snow on North Carolina beaches, rarer than a blue moon, was prevalent along a great majority of the 301 miles of coastline Wednesday morning.
A winter storm that left snow in path of the Deep South from the French Quarter of New Orleans to Florida to the Carolinas left a slick, solid coating from the Outer Banks near Virginia to the southeastern beaches near Wilmington. The expectations from the National Weather Service were about one-half an inch near Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island, upward of 5 to 6 inches in Wilmington.
The Associated Press reported the Outer Banks expecting up to 8 inches; Wednesday morning, the Island Free Press in Hatteras showed images and reported about 1 inch.
At 6 a.m., the National Weather Service office in Newport measured 5.8 inches. That’s near Morehead City, about midway north-south of the state’s coastline.
Just to the south of Wilmington, 5 inches were measures in downtown Conway adjacent to Myrtle Beach. That’s more than double the 2 inches the area got Feb. 10, 2010.
In North Carolina, the unusual occurrence was for heavier snow toward the ocean and less going farther inland. Temperatures were just above 20 degrees.
Officials throughout the state warned of dangerous travel conditions on roads.
Nationally, more than 2,300 flights were canceled on Tuesday. Snowplows were mobilized in Florida, said Gov. Ron DeSantis, and New Orleans’ first snow in more than a decade landed 10 inches in some places.
(This is a developing story. Check back for updates.)
