Some Of America's Wildest Winter Storm Videos Of 2026 Part 2

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina did not look like the warm
vacation destination it usually is judging by this photo
taken just after last weekend's southern snowstorm.
Photo from Visit Myrtle Beach
South Carolina via Facebook.

It's been a dramatic winter of storms in the U.S. There's been a lot of videos floating around social media proving that fact. 

I've already put up one round of videos back on January 28.

But, more storms, more video! So let's get into it: 

Back in late January, just after the ice storm that slammed Mississippi, Tennessee and surrounding areas, the weight of the ice was still crumbling southern buildings even a couple days after the precipitation ended. 

Here's a dramatic surveillance video of a building in Benton, Arkansas losing the battle against the weight on the roof. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

Video by Storm Chaser Aaron Rigsby of wild blizzard conditions on Cape Hatteras last Saturday and Saturday night, followed by a house fire Sunday morning in Nags Head. People down there had their hands full. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that.

Reed Timmer, who normally chases tornadoes, chased the winter storm down to Emerald Isle, on the barrier islands not far from Cape Lookout, North Carolina. He found snow drifts nearly burying cars. Click on this link to view or if you see the image below, click on that. 

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina looked strange in the snow, too. Those palmetto trees looked out of place in the near blizzard conditions and in under the bright blue skies and blowing snow the next day. Again click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

Farmers in Florida often spray water on crops when temperatures fall below freezing. This actually protects the plants when temperatures go into the upper 20s and low 30s. 

But in at least one case, at a blueberry farm, the ice quickly grew inches and inches thick because it was so cold, and the subfreezing temperatures lasted so long, that the ice accumulated rapidly. The wind also knocked over equipment, increasing the volume of water hitting the fields.   Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

If people thought the snow was too deep where they were, they should look at the Tug Hill Plateau near Lake Ontario, New York. The region gets blasted by huge lake effect snows almost every winter. This year has been especially big on snow there, as the lake keeps delivering, and a lack of thaws has kept much of the snow on the ground. 

By the way, a little more lake affect snow is forecast for the area in the next few days, but it will only be a few inches. Not several feet. For a look, here's a news video from the area: As always, click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

Sad stories come out after storms like this from sometimes unexpected places. In Nashville, a plant store that sold mostly cactus and succulents lost power for a week, damaging the plants to the point they can't be sold. The owner lost $100,000 in merchandise. The insurer State Farm initially said they would cover the damage, but, as big corporations do, found a way to weasel out paying. 

It does look like people are trying to donate to help the store owner out. Here's the cautionary news cast. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below click on that.  

Winter Weather: The South Is Doing It Again With Near-Blizzard, Intense Cold

This house in Rodanthe, North Carolina was one
of at least 15 Outer Banks houses that fell into
the ocean in 2025. A fierce nor'easter packing
winds of up to 75 mph, battering waves and
blizzard conditions is threatening more houses.

For the second time in a week, a wild blast of winter weather is brewing in the South, this time setting its sights on the Carolinas, and part of Georgia and Virginia. 

It might even snow a little in Florida again as that state, and much of the Southeast is once again facing bitter cold temperatures. 

This one, much like the Gulf Coast snowstorm a year ago, will be one for the history books. 

The main story is the nor'easter about to develop near North Carolina. It's the same one we were wondering a few days ago whether would see anything from it here in Vermont. We won't.

Eastern North Carolina and southeast Virginia could get eight to 12 inches of snow. The heaviest weather would come through Saturday night and early Sunday with strong winds and whiteout conditions - basically a blizzard.

The real scary spot will be out on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which will be close to the center of the fast-intensifying and powerful nor'easter. This barrier island chain should see four to eight inches of snow with winds gusting to as high as 75 mph. So again, a blizzard.

In fact, it's possible the National Weather Service will ultimately issue a blizzard warning for the Outer Banks.  If that happens it will be the first time such a warning was issued for the area.

If a foot of snow falls near the coast, it'll be the first time since 1980 or 1989, depending on where you are near the North Carolina shore.   

Coastal flooding is a given, since forecasters predict a two to four foot storm surge and large, breaking waves of up to 12 feet.

At least 15 shoreline homes have fallen into the sea in 2025 in the Outer Banks, especially in and near the town of Rodanthe and Buxton. Those collapses occurred during only moderate-sized storms or due to hurricanes far offshore. 

It's a little frightening to think what might happen with an intense nor'easter scoring a direct hit on this area.  

Officials have declared a shelter-in-place emergency in the Outer Banks, meaning anyone who is safe from coastal flooding needs to stay indoors during the storm. 

Much of central and western North and South Carolina is expecting at least three to seven inches of snow out of this. What's known as a "deformation band" might set up somewhere in the region, giving some places in the central parts of the Carolinas up to a foot of snow. Exactly where that happens is still open to debate.

For the second time in a week due to a winter storm, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has declared a state of emergency for his state. 

Further south, Wilmington, North Carolina and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina are expecting about six or seven inches of snow, mostly Saturday night and early Sunday.  The area around Charleston, South Carolina can expect three to six inches of new snow .

The storm will extend into eastern Georgia, where places like Athens will see three to five inches of snow with winds or 35 mph. There could even be a little snow in northeast Florida. 

This snow will also be more unusual than most. In the rare times it does snow along the Southeast coast, it's wet and heavy. This snow will mostly be powdery. That means it'll blow around a lot, reducing visibility. On the bright side, there won't be many power outages. Especially since little if any freezing rain will hit anywhere with this storm. 

The nor'easter will largely avoid the rest of the East Coast. It will probably clip far southeastern New England with strong winds, a few inches of snow and the risk of coastal flooding on Sunday. It could give a nasty blow to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in Canada early next week.

EXTREME SOUTHERN COLD

As the storm begins to depart from North Carolina Sunday, it will pull extremely cold air into the Southeast from more northern parts of the U.S.

Meteorologist expect many record lows to be set with this cold wave. That, in addition to the dozens of record lows this week in the wake of last weekend's winter storm. 

Extreme cold warnings are in effect throughout the Southeast. Places in northern Mississippi that still do not have electricity after last weekend's ice storm can expect temperatures near 10 degrees this weekend.  

The cold wave in Florida is going to be odd. Usually, frost and freezes in Florida have relatively little wind. 

This time, the frigid temperatures Saturday night will be accompanied by winds of up to 40 mph or even more in a few spots. That'll bring wind chills well into the single digits and teens to a state that's not prepared for that kind of weather. Officials are worried about the homeless population around the state. 

On Saturday night, strong northwest winds coming off the Gulf of Mexico into the deep cold in Florida could produce snow flurries as far south as Tampa. There's a very slight chance Tampa could receive measurable snow, even if it's a quarter inch or less. If that happens, it'll be only the third time history the city has gotten measurable snow. The other times were in 1899 and 1977.

The Tampa area saw flurries that did not accumulate in December, 1989 and January, 2010.

Many areas of Florida will have their hardest freeze in years. 

A freeze watch is in effect as far south as Miami-Dade and Broward counties away from the coast. Temperatures in Miami are forecast to fall into the mid-30s Saturday night with wind chills in the 20s. 

The weather is generating weird headlines like this one in the Miami Herald: "Will Insurance Cover Frozen Iguana Damage In Miami?"

Iguanas get stunned by the cold and fall from trees. They can be heavy enough to damage cars and lightweight buildings.  The answer to the Miami Heralds question is yes, depending on whether you have comprehensive coverage or not. 

Temperatures across the Southeast are forecast to warm up somewhat by early next week. But temperatures will remain well below at least through the week. 

Humberto And Imelda Continue Their Dance; Will Carolinas Escape Trouble?

As pot this morning, Hurricane Humberto to the right
is a classic, intense hurricane. Meanwhile, that elongated
cluster of clouds in eastern Cuba and the Bahamas
will become Tropical Storm Imelda, Click on this
photo to make it bigger and easier to see.

The Southeast continues to watch super powerful Hurricane Humberto and what as of early this morning was still soon to be Tropical Storm Imelda. 

The news is cautiously optimistic for the Carolinas as early hints take what will be Imelda a little further offshore than previously forecast.  

The reason: Hurricane Humberto is by far the dominant one in this relationship.  It achieved Category 5 status Saturday with top winds of 160 mph.  Category 5s used to be relatively rare, but they seem to have gotten more common.

Hotter water brought on by climate change is powering up many more hurricanes to Category 5 than we used to see.

 This hasn't been a particularly busy Atlantic hurricane season so far, and yet this is the second Category 5 of the year. Hurricane Erin reached that status in August.

Humberto was marginally weaker early this morning with top winds of 155 mph, so still wicked powerful. 

Since Humberto is so strong, compared to relatively weak Imelda, it will have more influence over the situation. Imelda is still forecast to move northward through the Bahamas parallel to the Florida east coast today, through Monday into Tuesday. 

Imelda didn't strengthen into a tropical storm Saturday as some forecasts indicated. But it was getting better organized just off the northeast coast of Cuba early this morning so today will be the dawn of Tropical Storm Imelda. I guess she didn't want to be a Saturday baby or something. 

The water north of Cuba and toward the Bahamas is quite warm, and that will fuel Imelda.  Meteorologists think it will manage to become a hurricane by around late Monday night or Tuesday morning. 

Imelda will still be weaker than big bad Humberto, though. probably will manage to become a hurricane by around late Monday night or Tuesday morning. Between the influence of Humberto and the fact a weather disturbance over the interior southeastern United States won't be able to draw Imelda toward the coast, it's looking a bit safer for the Carolinas, and Georgia, and even Florida for that matter. 

Instead, the best guess is by midweek, Imelda will slow down, and take a turn to the northeast, and follow big Humberto into the north Atlantic, where both will eventually die in the cold water up there. 

That's not to say the Southeast coast is completely out of the woods. A few forecasts still bring Imelda close to or even on the coast, which would be a mess, but most keep it offshore. 

Even if forecast is accurate and Imelda lingers offshore, it will probably come close enough to send heavy rain bands and gusty winds into coastal areas of South Carolina and parts of North Carolina. And maybe Georgia and coastal Florida. 

Imelda could also bring some storm surges and rough seas to the Southeast coastline. Because it will be moving so slowly, it'll have a lot of time to pound and erode the beaches.

Plus, remember, Humberto is still out there and is a monster. Much like Erin in August, it will send swells and rough surf to the entire East Coast to augment what Imelda plans to do. 

We might be lucking out with our unfriendly couple Humberto and Imelda in that the U.S. avoids another direct hit by a hurricane. The two storms will cause trouble for us, but thankfully, probably no cataclysm. We don't need another one. 

No guarantees, but it's possible a hurricane might not make landfall in the United States this year. It's slightly past the peak of hurricane season, and there's plenty of time for tropical trouble in October. But so far, unlike the devastation of recent years, the U.S. might get a break from hurricanes. 

With all the other weather and climate disasters this year - and there has been many of them - along with the nation's political instability, we'll take any break we can.  

The Year Of The Wildfires Continues: Carolinas Ablaze Again

Photo from the South Carolina Forestry Commission
shows a large fire burning on a mountain in western
South Carolina over the weekend. 

So far, this has been a year of awful wildfires. 

And we haven't even come close to peak season for this type of thing yet. 

Of course, we know about the horrible wildfires in California this past January that claimed at least 29 lives and caused billions of dollars in damage around Los Angeles.

Wildfires in Oklahoma and surrounding states claimed perhaps 400 homes during the middle of March

The Carolinas saw big wildfires earlier this month. Meanwhile, smaller but still dangerous brush fires have hit several Eastern states.

The latest problem is that the Carolinas are burning again. 

Western North Carolina is in the midsts of its peak wildfire season, which hits just before the hills and mountains turn green in the spring. 

This year is much worse than usual. 

There have been new evacuations because of these fires.  At least one home and two other structures have been destroyed in the fires, along with some cars and other property.  

The area most affected by the latest North Carolina wildfires are hitting an area devastated by Hurricane Helene last fall. Since that apocalyptic flood from Hurricane Helene last September, it really hasn't rained much in the Carolinas. 

Wreckage from that fire might be making the blazes worse and more challenging. Countless fallen trees and branches from that storm are drying out, adding potential fuel to those fires. 

That storm debris is also making things more dangerous for people needing to evacuate from the western North Carolina fires and the people fighting those blazes.  

Per CBS:

"It's to just the high winds, the low humidity, the steep terrain, but they're also dealing with storm debris that's blocking UTV trails, regular roads and them just getting in on foot because we have so many trees down,' Kellie Cannon, a spokesperson for Polk County told CBS affiliate WSPA."

Most of the western North Carolina fires were nowhere near containment as of Monday evening. 

Large fires were burning in western South Carolina, too, prompting evacuations. Another large fire in South Florida burned through 26,000 acres, and closed roads between southwest Florida and the Keys. 

Yet another large wildfire over the weekend in southern New Jersey briefly threatened homes. That part of New Jersey is now experiencing the most intense part of a drought that extends through much of the eastern U.S 

The Southeast, including the fire zones in the Carolinas, are expected to have dry, occasionally windy weather all week, which will keep the existing fires going and contribute to the fast spread of any new fires that could start. 

There is a little good news. But not much. Some rain is in the forecast for North and South Carolina toward Sunday and Monday, but it looks like the heaviest rain will pass to the west of the Appalachians in that region instead of thoroughly soaking the Carolina wildfire zone. 

Also, some rain is expected later this week in parts of western Texas and Oklahoma hit by the worst of the wildfires this month. But once again, the heaviest rain is expected to miss New Mexico, the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles,  and western Kansas, which need it the most.  

The bigger wildfires will shift to the West this summer. Drought condition continue in the Southwest and sections of the Rockies, so we can probably expect more big blazes in the western U.S. this summer and autumn.

VERMONT EFFECTS

It's the spring fire season here in Vermont, too and that state of affairs will last probably through April on dry weather days.

We've already had two or three days with high fire danger. So far, though, through Monday, Vermont has only seen five brush fires which combine have only burned just under an acre of land. So far, no crisis here.  

Damp weather over the the next several days should mostly keep fire danger here in Vermont to a reasonable level. There's also the possibility of a soaking storm Sunday and Monday, which would be good. 

However, with the dead weeds and stuff still prominent from last year, it would only take a couple days of dry, sunny, windy weather to set off another period of higher fire risk. Thankfully, so far at least, it doesn't look like Vermont will have the kind of long dry spell which would create the conditions for larger fires like those in the Carolinas.  

Videos: 

A good NBC News overview of the fires. Click on this link to view, or if you see the video below, click on that. 

To give you an idea how dry it is in the Carolinas, here's a video of how a small spark led to a fire that instantaneously spread across a South Carolina lawn. Looks like the landscape crew was able to put it out before it spread to houses. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

Wildfires That Plagued The East During Last Autumn's Drought Are Back

Large wildfire in eastern Long Island,
New York Saturday. Photo via Facebook
from Long Island Advance

The spate of brush and forest fires that harassed much of the eastern United States during last autumn's drought are back. 

Spring wildfires are more common than autumn. Dry weeds and foliage dry out in the strengthening March sun. The landscape hasn't started greening yet.  

If it gets dry and windy, fires can break out under those conditions,  

We've already had large fires in the Carolinas that started last week. At least one of them near Myrtle Beach is still burning.  At last report it was 55 percent contained and had consumed 2,000 acres after threatening several homes.

A 40-year old woman was arrested for starting that fire. Last Saturday, the woman started a fire in her fire pit near the tree line in back of her home while strong, dry winds blew. She did not have a water supply or other fire fighting tools ready when she lit the fire, authorities said. 

On Saturday, three large wildfires broke out on eastern Long island, New York, forcing the closure of major roads, forcing evacuations and damaging two commercial businesses. Two firefighters were hurt, but their injuries are said to be not that serious. 

Investigators are trying to determine if those fires were accidental or did somebody set them. Two of the fires were contained as of Sunday afternoon, and firefighters were making substantial gains on the third one. 

Several fires broke out in New Jersey in the past week, including one that threatened about 30 buildings in Hopewell Junction. A new wildfire broke out amid dry winds gusting to 40 mph on Saturday near Pennsville Township, New Jersey, just across the Delaware River from Wilmington, Delaware. 

Most of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania remained under fire weather alerts today   as the humidity remained low and gusty winds continued. No real rain is in the forecast for most of the Northeast until next Saturday night or Sunday. 

Last autumn's drought that affected the Northeast never really went away. It is still ongoing in many areas, especially in Maryland, New Jersey, southeast Pennsylvania, southeast New York and southern New England.  Those dry conditions are making the usual early spring fires that much more easy to erupt.

Believe it or not, brush and wildfire season is approaching in Vermont. True, many areas are still deep in snow, and that won't disappear immediately, despite the warm air that's in the forecast in the next several days. 

However, the snow will eventually disappear, and before we green up for spring, the dry brush from last year can easily burst into flames and spread rapidly during the type of dry, windy days we often have in April.  

Death Toll Uncertain In Florida As Hurricane Ian Poised To Hit South Carolina

Photo from CBS Miami shows utter destruction in
Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

 The big mess left behind in Florida is making it impossible to assess the losses both in terms of life and property from Hurricane Ian. 

More damage is on the way as a rejuvenated Ian is poised to hit South Carolina today with a storm surge and winds as high as 85 mph. Hopefully, this will be Ian's big last gasp.  Although the hurricane isn't as strong as it was when it hit southwest Florida, it's already causing trouble even before making landfall.

As of earlier this morning, parts of downtown Charleston, South Carolina and other sections of the city were beginning to flood from a storm surge. The flooding is expected to worsen as heavy rains continue and tides rise.  Flooding is also forecast deep into South and North Carolina today. 

Meanwhile, Florida is only just beginning to pick up the pieces as many areas remain flooded. Emergency responders did rescue at least 700 people in Florida Thursday.  This included the miraculous rescue of a man found alive under a large pile of broken lumber - the apparent remains of a house in Fort Myers Beach.  At least 2.1 million utility customers in Florida still had no electricity as of early this morning. 

So far, the Associated Press has confirmed six deaths, but that total will rise. There's still a lot of missing person reports to sift through, debris to search through and reports to coordinate.  Many areas remained flooded, and survivors were gradually being taken out in small boats and kayaks. This will take awhile.

I am hoping the death toll does not exceed 100, as some Florida officials feared yesterday. I'm also hoping most everybody left the hardest hit places like Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island before the storm. Areal footage shows many homes swept clean away, leaving only bare concrete slabs behind.  If anyone was in those now gone homes, they didn't survive. 

In hardest hit areas of Lee and Charlotte counties in Florida, communications were spotty at best, with cell service severely limited. Cell phone companies were rushing in portable cell towers to help with this issue.

Here in Vermont, the only effects from Ian will be from its outflow. Hurricanes are like chimneys, spewing heat and moisture into the air. That outflow takes the form of a vast shield of high, relatively thin clouds. Those clouds were moving into Vermont this morning and will linger until a cold front arrives early Sunday.

Those high clouds will help prevent another frost from occurring tonight, but the cold front will usher in a renewed risk for frosts and freezes Sunday and Monday nights.

Meanwhile, the tropics look blessedly quiet, other than Ian.  A tropical depression in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean dissipated yesterday. A new disturbance just moving off the African coast will need to be watched for possible development into a tropical storm or hurricane. But if that happens, it'll take a few days to do so. It's unknown yet if this will threaten any land areas. 

Want A Nice Myrtle Beach Golf Weekend? Enjoy The Ice!

A frozen bridge in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 
during the last ice storm they had, back in 2015.  The 
normally temperate area is now under an ice storm 
warning, with icy roads and risk of tree and wire
damage in the area. Photo by Jason Lee/The Sun News 

 Even in the depths of winter, the area around Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and the seacoast in the southeastern corner of North Carolina can be lovely.  

Lots of people flock to that region to play golf, or enjoy at least some relatively mild weather.  

If you were planning something like that this weekend down there, you're out of luck

The area around Myrtle Beach and Wilmington, North Carolina is under a rare ice storm warning today into Saturday morning. 

A shallow layer of cold air has slid down the East Coast all the way to the Carolinas. This is courtesy of the same Arctic high pressure that dropped temperatures into the teens and 20s below here in Vermont this morning. 

A storm will form offshore of North Carolina and feed the needed moisture into coastal North and South Carolina to create freezing rain.  Further inland a bit, there will be more in the way of sleet and snow, so not as much ice accumulation. There could be as much as a half foot of snow in northeastern North Carolina 

But areas near and just inland from the coast could get up to 0.4 inches of ice accumulation from freezing rain. On top of the obvious trouble with travel, that's enough ice to drop quite a few branches, trees and power lines. So they're in for quite a weekend. 

Hundreds of utility trucks and tree trimmers have already deployed to the region to deal with the expected mess

Although it will stay chilly in the Carolinas for the next several days, it will warm up enough to melt the ice Sunday and on into the new week. 

The gathering pieces of this storm have already deposited a thin layer of ice on some surfaces in places like around New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, near the Gulf Coast. Not much has fallen, but it's enough to make the roads dangerous today. 

The storm system causing this will head northeast and miss New England by a wide margin.

However, the orientation of the developing storm and the Arctic high pressure feeding into it is causing northeast winds along coastal New England. Usually northeast winds aren't THAT cold around Cape Cod, but this time the air is cold enough to produce some ocean effect snow.

Ocean effect snow is the same as lake effect, the kind that plasters Buffalo, New York from time to time.

Ocean effect snow on Cape Cod rarely amounts to anything, since cold waves there usually come with northwest winds. A northwest wind doesn't allow much time for cold air to pass over water near the coast, so little snow results.

This time, the northeast winds and stronger than normal levels of cold are allowing a few inches of snow to pile up on parts of Cape Cod.