Weather
File this one under “things we did not have on the winter bingo card.” A single winter storm along the North Carolina coast just delivered more snow than Spokane, Washington, has seen all season. Following a massive 7-inch snowfall on January 7, Spokane has continuously seen warmer temperatures in the 40s°F.
As of this morning, Spokane is sitting at just 14 inches of snow for the entire winter—18.9 inches below normal. Meanwhile, parts of coastal North Carolina woke up buried under a storm that would look more at home in the Inland Northwest.
According to the National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City, snow depth at their office in Newport, NC, reached 15 inches this morning. It is the biggest snowfall in almost 40 years for some North Carolina regions, since the 1989 storm. Charlotte recorded its fourth snowiest day on record ever.
“❄️ Snow Depth of 15″ at the office in Newport, NC this morning! Snowfall is slowly moving east, and should be clearing out through the morning,”
— NWS Newport/Morehead City, 6:30 a.m., February 1
Let that sink in: one storm on the Carolina coast outperformed an entire winter in eastern Washington.
8:40am Hwy 58 Conditions
12/10 bad. Stay home! Still no plowing from NC DOT.
To the people that we passed on Hwy 70 in Morhead City in the Nissan Altima, please make better life decisions. Your Nissan is barely equipped for a sunny day, much less 15 inches of snow. Thats why you were stuck facing the wrong direction in front of Zaxby’s.
Stay safe and warm everyone!
— Pine Knoll Shores Police Department
Spokane, a city known for cold winters and reliable snow, has struggled through an unusually dry and warm season, while a rare and powerful coastal setup funneled cold air and Gulf moisture into North Carolina—an area far better known for hurricanes than powder days.
For locals in Newport and along the Crystal Coast, this wasn’t just a novelty. 15 inches of snow in a region with little snow-removal infrastructure means travel disruptions, closed schools, and scenes straight out of a once-in-a-generation event. North Carolina State Highway Patrol has reported 750 collisions on Saturday, January 31. For meteorologists, it’s a reminder that winter doesn’t always follow the rules—or the geography textbooks. Meanwhile, Spokane skiers and snow lovers can only look southeast with a mix of disbelief and envy.
Winter 2025–26 continues to be strange, stubborn, and wildly uneven—and North Carolina just stole a little snow glory from the Pacific Northwest. North Carolina also won the 2025-26 race to open, when Sugar Mountain Ski Resort opened for the season on November 11, 2025.
