Winter Storm Event
Freezing Rain, Sleet, Ice
Started: December 15, 2005 at 2 am EST Ended: December 15, 2005 at 10 pm EST |
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Light freezing rain developed early in the morning along and north of the I-40 corridor, and gradually intensified overnight. By late morning, up to one quarter inch of ice accretion had occurred across much of the area. A few trees fell and sporadic power outages occurred during this time, but these reports became much more widespread during the late morning and afternoon.
An ice storm produced a 1/4 to 1/2 inch coating of ice across Northern North Carolina starting on the morning of the 15th in the west and continuing into the evening. Downed trees, limbs and power lines created power outages across much of the region. Emergency managers estimated that 12,000 people lost power during the storm. Surry county reported 300 trees downed across the county with 8,000 people losing power in the Dobson, Mount Airy and Westfield areas. By late morning, ice accretion finally began to cause damage across the northern mountains and foothills of North Carolina. Quite a few trees fell, and power outages were fairly widespread, especially from the Blue Ridge east. Ice accumulation ranged from more than a half inch along the Blue Ridge to an eight of an inch or less along the Tennessee border. Several trees and large limbs fell on and damaged homes and vehicles. Plenty of slick spots also developed on roads, mainly in the mountains, where quite a few accidents occurred. Precipitation changed over to all rain by noon. Clearing skies with temperatures dropping down to around 30 the next morning resulted in areas of black ice. A 12 year old girl was killed in an automobile accident near Stovall in Granville when the car her grandfather was driving flipped as a combined result of speed and ice. Numerous trees and large limbs fell on and damaged homes and vehicles. It was estimated that three-quarters of Henderson County residents lost power. Most who lost power were without it for at least 24 hours. In some areas, it took as much as 5 days to restore electricity. Despite the devastation, road problems were few and far between, as temperatures hovered right around freezing for most of the event. Duke Power estimated costs for overtime and line repair at 72 million dollars for the event, though these costs are not reflected in the property damage values for the event above. In Henderson County, 2 deaths (indirect) occurred as a result of the ice storm. A woman died of carbon monoxide poisoning after running a generator in a garage. A man died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a malfunctioning gas stove. Freezing rain fell across the Triad from around 4 am to noon with accumulations up to a quarter of an inch. No major power outages were reported in the area, however, hundreds of automobile accidents resulted from the freezing rain. Quite a few trees fell and power outages numbered in the tens of thousands. A 58 yr-old male was killed when a tree fell through the roof of his home south of Kannapolis. Total ice accumulation ranged from a half inch or more near and west of Interstate 77. Fortunately, traffic problems were few, as the temperature hovered right around freezing through the event causing only a few slick spots. |
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Injuries | 3 | Deaths | 2 |
Property Damage | $64,000 to $450,000 | Crop Damage | not available |
Atmospheric Maps | Large-scale maps of 500 mb Heights, Jet Stream Winds, and Sea Level Pressure from this event | ||
Event Analysis from the National Weather Service in Raleigh | |||
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Weather Station Data
Snow Sleet Freezing Rain Rain Mix |
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