"I can't remember the University closing down before," said Vice Chancellor-Business Affairs C.G. The "blizzard" which struck the area on March 2 forced a total closing of ECU the next day. No Classes." Classes at ECU were cancelled on Monday and Tuesday, March 3 and 4, and the University slowly struggled back to normal on following days while as much as 20 inches of snow and frozen stuff melted. The bulletin board in the lobby of Mendenhall Student Center read: "Today on Campus. Remember the Blizzard of March 2, 1980, at ECU. This account of the March 1980 snowstorm is courtesy of the Joyner Library Archives at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. With the deep snow pack, very cold temperatures were observed in the wake of the storm on Monday March 3, as Cedar Island dropped to 10 degrees and Morehead City to 12 degrees.Įastern Carolina University Account of the Storm The snow continued until early Monday morning March 3 before ending. Divergence matched up well with areas of heaviest snowfall. 250 mb Winds showing Eastern North Carolina between 2 jet streaks.įigure 8. Wind gusts in excess of 60 mph caused not only snow drifts up to 8 feet, but also very cold wind chills.įigure 7. Gusty winds also accompanied the storm with blizzard like conditions observed. As the surface low continued to move away from the area late on March 2 into early March 3, it “bombed”, creating sufficient instability to produce rare “thunder snow” over the Outer Banks. This strong upper divergence corresponded well with the heaviest snowfall amounts. This maximized lift over the region with a large area of strong 250 mb divergence (Figure 8). At 250 mb, eastern North Carolina was in the area in the right rear entrance region of a jet streak across the northeast, and also in the left front exit region of the jet streak across Florida (Figure 7). It was during the afternoon and evening on the 2nd, when the very heavy snowfall occurred across eastern North Carolina as the surface low rapidly strengthened offshore to 999 mb by 00Z March 3. The precipitation in Eastern North Carolina started as sleet around noon on March 1, creating icy roads. Surface low pressure deepening off the Carolina coast late evening March 2, 1980ĭuring the morning of March 2, snow was falling across Alabama, Georgia, north Florida, eastern Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and southern Virginia. 500 mb Heights/Vorticity at 21Z Mashowing upper low becoming negatively tilted and cutting off.įigure 6. By late afternoon on March 2, the system intensifies and becomes negatively tilted with cyclogenesis off the South Carolina coast (Figure 6).įigure 5. 500 mb Heights/Vorticity at 12Z Mashowing shortwave digging across the southern states.Īs the shortwave continued to strengthen, the overall system slowed and became neutrally tilted by the afternoon of March 2 with the 500 mb low cutting off over Georgia (Figure 5). 500 mb Heights at 00Z Mashowing cold polar vortex over eastern Canada.įigure 4. Surface Analysis at 12Z Mashowing strong Arctic high pressure covering much of the eastern U.S.įigure 3. A potent 500 mb shortwave developed in the strong upper cyclonic flow and dove into the lower Mississippi Valley by 12Z March 2 (Figure 4).įigure 2. Aloft, a very cold polar vortex moved from the southeastern part of Hudson Bay into the Maritime Provinces of Canada and northern New England as of 00Z March 1 (Figure 3). Snowfall Amounts from the March 1-3, 1980 snowstorm.Īrctic air gripped much of the eastern United States in advance of this storm with strong high pressure (1048 mb) over southern Canada and the northern Great Plains providing the cold air (Figure 2). There were 13 storm related deaths statewide, including 8 in the Newport/Morehead City (MHX) area of responsibility.įigure 1. Property damage was estimated at $21.8 million with nearly $10 million in Duplin County to the poultry industry. All travel in North Carolina came to a stop with many stranded motorists in eastern sections. The winds caused snow drifts up to 8 feet. The maximum gust recorded was 62 mph at Cape Hatteras. In addition to the high snow totals, sustained winds of 20 to 40 mph were observed in eastern North Carolina with gusts of over 50 mph. What made this storm so remarkable was the combination of snow, high winds, and very cold temperatures. This was one of the great snowstorms in Eastern North Carolina history. Widespread snowfall totals of 12 to 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 (Figure 1). On the afternoon and evening of March 2, 1980, North Carolina experienced a major winter storm with heavy snow across the entire state and near blizzard conditions in the eastern part of the state.
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