WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) — Long-time residents of southeastern North Carolina will never forget December 1989, when a historic snowstorm transformed the coastal region into a winter wonderland.
The storm system developed from Dec. 22 to 24, 36 years ago, creating the perfect recipe for heavy snow: a brutally cold Arctic air mass was already in place, combined with a powerful winter storm tracking out of the Gulf of Mexico.
“On the evening of Dec. 22, the developing offshore storm system began to produce snow in southeastern North Carolina. By early on the 23rd, the storm had intensified dramatically, producing 60 mph winds and waves as high as 34 feet in the near-shore waters,” reports the National Weather Service (NWS). “The tanker Benjamin Isherwood ran aground just off Corolla. Snow fell from the evening of the 22nd to about midday on the 24th.”…