A Southern Snow Storm

Winter storm Cora brings an all-around wintry mess for North Carolina and our Southern sister states

By: Chloe Snow

On Jan. 10, 2025, Winter Storm Cora trekked eastward into North Carolina after salting North Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. As of 2:30 p.m. in Winston Salem, North Carolina,  the clouds hung heavy with moisture, turning a sharp slate grey as snow began to pour. Almost immediately, perfectly primed conditions meant the snow stuck to the cold, frozen ground, and North Carolinians braced for an impactful winter storm. The temperature dropped quickly as the snow began to fall, starting at 30 degrees and down to 27 degrees by 2:40 p.m.

A weather map of Cora as of Jan. 10, 2025 at 6:50 a.m. Image credit (The Weather Channel)   

Cora moseys her way eastward bringing heavy rain, ice, sleet, and snow as of 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2025.  Image credit (The Weather Channel)   

Cora’s impact will be felt across the entirety of Tennessee and North Carolina and a winter storm warning issued for the North Carolina mountains, foothills, and triad regions. Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency on Thursday, Jan. 9, ahead of the storm. Cora has also prompted many school systems across the state to cancel school for students on Friday, Jan. 10, and Monday, Jan. 13. Because of the storm, Josh Stein’s outdoor inauguration, which was scheduled for Jan. 11, was changed to a televised event (wfdd). 

In the Southeast, a winter storm of this magnitude hasn’t been seen in years. In the Raleigh-Durham area, as well as the Winston-Salem region, the last snowfall of any significant accumulation was  Jan. 2022 (ABC 11). Nashville, Tennessee broke a 130-year-old snowfall record (The Weather Channel). The Southern states are just not used to this kind of extreme cold and wintry weather with the last several winters proving quite mild, so the cold truly snapped us awake. 

With a storm like this, Costco and every other grocery store were akin to a wild turkey race. In preparation for a snowstorm, grocery shopping is not for the faint of heart, but especially not for those of us in the South. It is almost as if we lose our sense and sanity when the snow begins to accumulate in our driveways and front yards, like a foreign substance, and we all go into survival mode where we stock up on our bread and eggs and hunker down. 

As winter storm Cora moved gracefully across the frozen South, she left her reminisce behind.  According to the National Weather Service, here are accumulation totals for areas of the mountains, foothills, and triad on Jan. 11 (National Weather Service): 

• Winston-Salem (triad) received 1.5 inches of snow
• Surry County (foothills) received anywhere from 3.5 to 5.5 inches of snow
• Boone (mountains) received 4.3 inches of snow

Those in the eastern part of North Carolina did not see much snow, but they received their fair share of sleet and freezing rain, or as I like to say, a wintry mess (Wilmington Star News). 

However, this is a meager amount compared to those in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The National Weather Service reports that as much as 13 in. fell in parts of Southeastern Oklahoma. Areas in Arkansas saw as much as 12.5 in. with The Weather Channel reporting that Mena, Arkansas saw the heaviest total at 14.3 in. (The Weather Channel). 

The reminiscence of Cora as of Sat. Jan. 11 at 9:55 a.m. My, she was a storm! Image credit: The Weather Channel  

Once the sky cleared on Saturday morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see brave dog walkers and leisurely observers out exploring the snow. The neighborhood dogs, all bundled in their coats and sweaters, were particularly intrigued by the fluffy mixture, frolicking, burying their noses in it, and rolling around. By Saturday afternoon, the snow had hardened, thus making it perfect packing-snow for snowmen. Or, for the adventurous, the packed snow created prime sledding conditions. Neighborhood kids trudged uphill with their neon-colored sleds and a stead-fast determination before launching downhill like seals sliding on ice. 

A group of neighborhood children working diligently on building a snowman. Photograph by Chloe Snow. 

Saturday night, however, was just as cold if not colder than the previous evening; therefore, refreeze was an issue for Sunday morning. Refreeze also posed problems on Monday morning as well with temperatures plummeting below freezing on Sunday night. 

A residential side road covered in snow, tire tracks, and footprints. Photograph by Chloe Snow. 

Cars were either left stranded or sidelined by drivers on Sat. Jan. 11. Thankfully by Sunday, all cars had been removed from the side of the road. Photograph by Chloe Snow. 

This lovely snowman sports a turquoise and blue scarf, an East Carolina ball cap, a strawberry nose, grape eyes, and a lot of pine needle hair. Photograph by Chloe Snow. 

This blue-eyed snowman sports a fabulous hat and a red scarf. Photograph by Chloe Snow. 
In the last weeks, Americans have seen extreme weather on both ends of the country: snow in the South, extreme cold, and the Los Angeles fires still burning. On one hand, snow is falling quietly in soft, white powder: wet and cold. On the other hand, snow is falling in ash and embers: singeing and suffocating. In the words of Robert Frost, “Some say the world will end in fire and some say in ice,” and from what I’ve seen and tasted, it does not seem the world is ending but beginning, again and again. The free spirit of nature can sometimes be as unpredictable and as ever-changing than what we can keep up with. Clare Buchanan speaks truth when she says “Now I wonder …  what streets will look the same, and which will bear the stress of the relentless Santa Ana flame” (The Salemite). The earth bears evidence of its natural occurrences, scars root deeply into the geography so that while the world may feel like it’s ending, it’s only just beginning, again and again, with the reminisce of scars and reminders of powerful forces always present in the always changing earth.