Islanders Ring in the New Year with Icy Temps and a Little Snow

Islanders were treated to an unexpected visitor on New Year’s Eve – a dusting of snow.

Light flurries began at around 9 p.m. for most of the island on Sunday night, and continued into Monday morning with minimal accumulation on the ground. As of Monday morning, N.C. Highway 12 was traversable, with no accumulating ice or snow on the road.

The New Year’s snow marked the beginning of what is expected to be a cold week on the islands, with temperatures expected to remain in the 30s for the next few days.

Starting on Sunday night, Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands will have have lows in the 20s for a good portion of the week. After a brief break where temperatures “warm” into the mid to upper 30s on Wednesday and Thursday, a second round of cold weather will return starting on Thursday night.

The National Weather Service Newport / Morehead City office also reports that computer models have been showing a potential large storm in the ocean for several days now.

While most of the storm itself will be well removed from the coastal area, over the past 48 hours, the trend has been slightly farther west which would result in the Hatteras and Ocracoke island areas being brushed by the far western edge of the storm.  Though this may change, islanders should be aware that a winter weather event is possible, with potential snow starting Wednesday afternoon and lasting until Wednesday night.

For more information, visit www.weather.gov/mhx for weather forecast information, or the National Weather Service office in Newport / Morehead City’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/NWSMoreheadCity/.

The Island Free Press will continue to post updates on the potential storm and future snowfall as soon as they are available.