(WGHP) — If you or your family have lived in central or western North Carolina for the past 65 years, you either remember or have been told about the crazy March of 1960.
That year, we had snow the first three Wednesdays of the month and even had reports of sleet on the fourth Wednesday. These weren’t small snows either.
On March 2, 1960, 7 inches fell in the Triad. On March 9, we had another 11 inches. Then on March 16, we had 1-2 inches of snow. That month, we had a total of 21.3 inches of snow. It was a cold month too. With many days of snow cover, that led to very cold nights and an average temperature of 35.1° or 15.2° below normal.
Many that grew up during these years commented on being out of school much of the month for all of the snow. As much fun as it was for the kids, it caused some serious trouble in our state. In our mountain communities, they had so much — up to 10 foot drifts on some roadways — people could not move around and some could not get food. The U.S. Army even brought food and supplies in via helicopter.
By the time March 1960 was complete, we had received 21.3 inches of snow in the Triad officially. We also had over 8 inches that February and a little in January. That winter, we had a total of 31.7″ The only winter to produce more snow was 1926-27 when the Triad had 32.5″, much of which also fell on March 2-3, 1927 when we had 20″ from our biggest storm on record.
You can see photos from the snowy March of 1960 on WebberWeather.com.
