Raise your hand if you remember Charlotte’s great snowfall of 2004. 🙋
ICYMI (or were just a wee snowflake at the time), here’s what happened: Snow started falling around 12 p.m. February 26, 2004, and the city came to a standstill when everyone left work and school at the same time. Another wave of snow fell that night into February 27.
It was a record setting storm, with 11.6 inches of snow falling in Charlotte — the third largest one-day total on record. The snow accumulation at Charlotte Douglas International Airport was 13.2 inches — the third biggest in city history.
Neighboring Rock Hill, South Carolina measured up to 22 inches. It was York County’s largest snowfall on record and a top three storm in South Carolina state history.
Here are some more snowtable fast facts about Charlotte’s relationship with snow days.
❄️ Other heavy snowfalls Charlotte experienced:
- 13.2 inches — February 15-17, 1969
- 13.3 inches — March 1-3, 1927
- 17.4 inches — February 14-17, 1902
❄️ The earliest snowfall:
- The earliest seasonal snowfall in Charlotte happened on November 11, 1968.
❄️ The latest snowfall:
- The latest in the season it has snowed in Charlotte happened on April 20, 1904.
And before you start Instacarting the milk, bread, and eggs this year, meteorologists are predicting Charlotte could receive less precipitation than climatically normal, according to the Climate Prediction Center. This is not uncommon for a winter where La Niña is forming. Keep in mind — these predictions don’t mean zero chance Charlotte will see snow this winter.
