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February 3, 2026 - Snow in the Carolinas
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A fierce winter storm brought snow and frigid temperatures to the Southeastern United States from January 31 to February 1, 2026. By February 2, the storm was racing to the northeast over the Atlantic Ocean, allowing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite to acquire this true-color image of the fresh snowfall. The states covered in white in this image include West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, in the north, Virginia and North Carolina in the center, and South Carolina.
“For parts of eastern North Carolina, this was the snowstorm of a lifetime”, declared the North Carolina State Climate Office on its website on February 2. “More than a foot fell over the central Coastal Plain, surpassing every other wintry event so far this century.”
New Bern and Newport, North Carolina both saw 12.5 inches and 15 inches during the storm, making it the first foot of snow accumulation for both cities since December 1989. But the highest totals for the state were not inland, but along the Crystal Coast, with Peletier buried under 19.5 inches. Local news reported that in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, extreme high tides and winds as high as 60 miles per hour caused the collapse of four beach homes during the storm.
Snow flurries reached as far south as Tampa, Florida. The flurries were accompanied by temperatures at or below freezing, triggering reports of frost on tender crops, such as strawberries. Media images showed alligators apparently trapped underneath a layer of ice as well as hundreds of cold-stunned iguanas laying inert on sidewalks.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 2/2/2026
Resolutions:
1km (381.2 KB), 500m (1 MB), 250m (1.7 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A fierce winter storm brought snow and frigid temperatures to the Southeastern United States from January 31 to February 1, 2026. By February 2, the storm was racing to the northeast over the Atlantic Ocean, allowing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite to acquire this true-color image of the fresh snowfall. The states covered in white in this image include West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, in the north, Virginia and North Carolina in the center, and South Carolina.
“For parts of eastern North Carolina, this was the snowstorm of a lifetime”, declared the North Carolina State Climate Office on its website on February 2. “More than a foot fell over the central Coastal Plain, surpassing every other wintry event so far this century.” New Bern and Newport, North Carolina both saw 12.5 inches and 15 inches during the storm, making it the first foot of snow accumulation for both cities since December 1989. But the highest totals for the state were not inland, but along the Crystal Coast, with Peletier buried under 19.5 inches. Local news reported that in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, extreme high tides and winds as high as 60 miles per hour caused the collapse of four beach homes during the storm.
Snow flurries reached as far south as Tampa, Florida. The flurries were accompanied by temperatures at or below freezing, triggering reports of frost on tender crops, such as strawberries. Media images showed alligators apparently trapped underneath a layer of ice as well as hundreds of cold-stunned iguanas laying inert on sidewalks.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 2/2/2026
Resolutions:
1km (381.2 KB), 500m (1 MB), 250m (1.7 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
