A Look Back at the Blizzard of 2026

By Steve Hanf

When you live on the Outer Banks, you know things. Sunburns. Surf forecasts. Shortcuts to avoid tourist traffic. Storm prep.

Wait. Let’s amend that last one.

You know tropical storm prep.

So, when you live on the Outer Banks and a winter storm approaches, what happens?

Mostly, you lose your ever-loving mind and spend days in a state that alternates between panic and childlike wonder as the white stuff makes its rare appearance on our sandy shores.

A bomb cyclone visited the OBX and delivered a couple of days of blizzard-like conditions on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. Leading into the storm, residents shared photos on social media of wiped-out grocery store shelves. Southern Shores Pizza posted a popular image of Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore and one of the restaurant’s workers at the ABC Store in Kitty Hawk. And the OBX got lots of airtime from another meteorological megastar, FOX Weather storm specialist Mike Seidel.

“I’ve been out there so many times for tropical storms and hurricanes, and I’ve covered lots and lots of snowstorms and blizzards,” Seidel says in a phone interview with Coastal Life. “But it certainly was the first time I’d covered a snowstorm on the Outer Banks in 30-plus years.”

The hours of coverage provided by Seidel and the FOX Weather team mirrored what locals were feeling in what was widely regarded as the biggest winter storm in the region since the “Snowstorm of the Century” in March of 1980 or the “Christmas Blizzard” of 1989.

There was serious concern, of course, due to the whipping winds and freezing temperatures. There was plenty of incredulity at snowfall totals—here of all places—totaling six to 12 inches. And sheer delight at the aftermath as people jumped into waist-high snowdrifts, explored the frozen sounds and turned Kill Devil Hill at the Wright Brothers’ Memorial into a snowboarding slope.

But it certainly wasn’t fun in the beginning. Seidel and his team spent hours in the wee hours of the morning doing standups from the beach in Kill Devil Hills with sustained winds of 45 mph, gusts that reached as high as 72 and flying sand, snow and seafoam creating a scene that Seidel says, “looked like the end of the world.”

“It was unique. When I was on the beach that first night, I was getting hit by blowing sand and blowing snow, and that was the first time in my career I’d been getting hit by both at the same time,” he says.

Before it was all over, four more houses would end up falling into the raging surf along Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Dare County Schools would close for three days. Hours-long power outages hit some 2,000 Dominion Energy customers on the OBX. Folks in Colington captured images of a snowplow that got stuck in a ditch while trying to clear the roads . . . actually making for much longer delays.

But for all that, the snow came and went, and life got back to normal in a relatively short amount of time—unlike what can happen when a tropical system visits the Outer Banks.

“It’s just a whole different animal,” Seidel says. “People were like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve never seen this much snow on the Outer Banks!’ But life as a whole was not significantly impacted. For one day, it was hard to get around, but when I left, Highway 12 was melted off, and things were starting to open back up. Even though the Outer Banks doesn’t get snow like that very often, it’s not like the difference between a Cat 1 and Cat 4 hurricane. Two inches of snow versus 12 inches of snow, it’s not comparable.”

When the snow did finally stop and the wind died down and the sun even made an appearance on Monday, Seidel found himself at Pigman’s Bar-B-Que. He stood in snowdrifts of 3- to 4-feet high as he bantered with the FOX Weather anchors back in the studio, talking about the powdery stuff being a “fun snow.”

The anchors encouraged him to jump into it, and the good-natured Seidel obliged, even making a snow angel to the absolute delight of the hosts.

“The sun comes out and life gets back to normal,” Seidel says. “I would have to think that a majority of the year-rounders weren’t that upset about the storm. They don’t see it that often, it’s kind of a novelty—that’s just my gut.”

That’s a prediction about the weather that’s right on the money. OBX folks will trade sandbags, storm shutters and surging seas for snow angels any time.
Steve Hanf weathered many an impressive winter while at the University of Illinois and counts himself among those OBX residents who enjoy the occasional flirtations with winter weather.

Author: Steve Hanf

Steve Hanf is a former professional sportswriter who has taught the journalism classes at First Flight High School since 2015.