NOT SET IN STONE...

Mid-January represents the "coldest" time of the year in southeastern North Carolina (climatologically speaking). Average daytime temperatures drop to about 55 degrees in Wilmington. Sometimes, temperatures can be much colder- even cold enough for snow.

Most of us are familiar with the criteria that define severe weather. For example- severe thunderstorms are defined as having winds over 57 mph. When it comes to winter weather, parameters become less defined. This is due mainly to the fact that some areas are better equipped to handle winter precipitation. An inch of snow in New York may not be a big deal, but an inch of snow in eastern North Carolina can shut down schools and businesses.

For this reason, many of the winter products (winter storm watches/warnings, sleet warnings, etc) issued by the National Weather Service are "fine tuned" based on location. The general definition of a "winter storm warning" (as defined by NOAA) as follows: "...any winter storm expected to produce major snow or ice accumulation". Sounds pretty generic, right? It is the responsibility of each individual office to determine just how many inches of snow constitutes "major" for their location.

There is, however, a general "priority scale" that applies universally to all offices. Winter Weather Advisories are usually less dire than full-blown winter storm watches/warning. Naturally, a "blizzard warning" is considered to be one of the "worst case scenarios". Blizzard warnings are usually issued in cases where high winds reduce visibilities to less than 1/4 mile for a prolonged period. Needless to say, such events are rare in southeastern North Carolina
(thank goodness).