"Plumbed" is an understatement—it was a full-on winter wallop. The "bomb cyclone" (unofficially named Winter Storm Gianna) that tore through the Southeast this past weekend (January 30 – February 1, 2026) was legitimately historic for several regions.
Here’s a breakdown of just how hard the South got hit:
The "Big Snow" Winners
* North Carolina: The state was the epicenter. Charlotte saw one of its top five heaviest snowfalls ever, with about 12 inches across the city. Some areas in the Piedmont, like Lexington and Kannapolis, recorded as much as 16 inches.
* Coastal Surprises: Myrtle Beach, SC, usually a palm-tree paradise, got blanketed with several inches, while parts of eastern NC like James City reported a staggering 18 inches.
* Tennessee & Virginia: Parts of eastern Tennessee and southern Virginia saw between 9 and 12 inches, adding more weight to a region already struggling with power outages from a previous ice storm.
Chaos on the Ground
* Travel Nightmare: The North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to over 1,000 accidents over the weekend. Major arteries like I-85 were absolute parking lots due to jackknifed semis and ice.
* Power Outages: At the peak, nearly 200,000 customers were in the dark across the Southeast. For many in Mississippi and Tennessee, this was their second week without power following the late January ice storm.
* The "Iguana Alert": The cold was so intense that it reached all the way to Florida. Not only did Tampa see rare snow flurries, but South Florida experienced its coldest air since 1989, leading to the infamous "falling iguanas" as the lizards went into cold-stunned shock.
By the Numbers
| Location | Snow Total (approx.) | Record/Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Faust, NC | 22.5 inches | Storm maximum |
| Charlotte, NC | 12 inches | Top 5 all-time event |
| Lexington, NC | 16 inches | Highest in the Piedmont |
| Harrisburg, TN | 9+ inches | Major disruption |
| Miami, FL | 35°F | Coldest morning since 2010 |
It’s definitely one of those "I survived the Great Snow of '26" moments for the history books.
Are you currently digging out from under it, or were you just watching the madness from a distance?
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