Column: Twenty-two years later, UNC's "Snowstorm 2000” remains unparalleled

If you are looking for a typical winter wonderland, North Carolina is not the place for you. 

Sure, you sometimes get significant snowfalls in the mountains, or the occasional major snow event elsewhere in the state every other year. But the Tar Heel state doesn’t hold a candle to snow belt states — like New York or Michigan.

But for a few days in late January of 2000, the conditions necessary for a snowstorm perfectly combined to dump a mammoth amount of snow — by North Carolina standards, anyway — in the central part of the state. 

Towns and cities that were hardly equipped to handle a few inches of snow received upwards of a foot. Schools and businesses across the region were shuttered for days, and central North Carolina ground to a halt. It had seemed that Western New York was not only sending us thousands of its residents, but its weather as well. 

The first month of the new millennium started off warm, with Chapel Hill experiencing 66-degree weather on New Year’s Day and even rising to 74 degrees on Jan. 4. Even as late as Jan. 14, the temperature was a balmy 71 degrees.

But while the first half of the month was springlike, the last two weeks of January were undoubtedly wintry. The temperatures dropped dramatically, with daily highs in the 40s and 30s, and nightly lows in the 20s, tens and even single digits. 

In addition, North Carolina also experienced some wintry weather. The National Weather Service reports  Chapel Hill saw around 4” of snowfall on Jan. 18 and another half of an inch on Jan. 23. But Jan. 25 brought with it the perfect combination of conditions to create a snowpocalypse of record-breaking proportions. 

On Jan. 24, a low-pressure system built up over Florida, but strengthened as it made its way north. That night, snow began to fall across central North Carolina, with an exasperated Daily Tar Heel headline exclaiming “Well, Here We Go Again.” 

“For the third time in a week,” the article continues, “UNC’s campus was blanketed with snow as students once again left their residence halls to take part in snowball fights and sledding.” 

In the end, the monster storm dropped incredible amounts of snow across the area. Raleigh-Durham International Airport reported receiving over twenty inches of snow, while Chapel Hill received over a foot. After a two-day hiatus — the first such interruption since the paper’s move to a Monday-through-Friday printing schedule in 1970 — The Daily Tar Heel returned with a “Snowstorm 2000” special edition, dedicating around half the issue to snow-related stories. 

“Zooming down streets on sleds, throwing snowballs and building snow buddies, students have reveled in the transformation of the University from an institution of higher learning into a winter playground,” proclaimed the paper.

Classes were canceled for three days after the storm, and in that time students enjoyed a variety of activities. 

“We’ve been having snowball fights and slumber parties,” sophomore Kelly Williams told The Daily Tar Heel. Sophomore Neil Foto, on the other hand, “slept til’ like 1 (p.m) every day and watched a lot of TV, played a lot of Nintendo.” 

According to reports, a snowball fight involving “160 to 175 people” occurred near Stacy, Lewis and Aycock halls, and a similarly large snowball battle occurred on Ehringhaus Field.

But many grew tired of the boredom and cabin fever that came with the heavy winter weather. Junior Sarah Goodman told the paper,  “I wouldn’t care if we never went back to class again as long as the SRC … was open.” 

“It may be the nerd in me,” senior Bret Hanlon said, “but I wish classes would get back.”

Gradually, the school began to return to normal operations. Campus crews worked diligently to clear sidewalks and roadways, and on Jan. 28, classes finally resumed. 

Twenty-two years later, that snowstorm has yet to be bested in this corner of the country. 

@TheMikenaean

opinion@dailytarheel.com