Photos: In 2014, a Valentine’s Day snowpocalypse paralyzed the Triangle

Scott Sharpe
·3 min read
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Ten years ago the Triangle was all but paralyzed by a perfect storm of freezing rain and snow.

On Feb. 12, 13 and 14, 2014, drivers abandoned their cars as roads became snarled with traffic and impassable for many.

Here’s a look back at the storm from The News & Observer photo archives.

Kevin Miller looks out of the passenger window of his friend’s car as they sit in stuck traffic Wednesday afternoon Feb. 12, 2014 after snow and ice caused massive traffic jams in Raleigh, NC. Scott Sharpe/ssharpe@newsobserver.com
Kevin Miller looks out of the passenger window of his friend’s car as they sit in stuck traffic Wednesday afternoon Feb. 12, 2014 after snow and ice caused massive traffic jams in Raleigh, NC. Scott Sharpe/ssharpe@newsobserver.com
Robert Moss, left, and Isaac Granick (behind car) help Dan Schneider navigate his car up W. Hargett St. in the snow in Raleigh, Wednesday, February 12, 2014. Ethan Hyman/ehyman@newsobserver.com
Robert Moss, left, and Isaac Granick (behind car) help Dan Schneider navigate his car up W. Hargett St. in the snow in Raleigh, Wednesday, February 12, 2014. Ethan Hyman/ehyman@newsobserver.com
Inbound Dawson Street is littered with traffic after some folks abandoned their cars trying to enter downtown during a winter storm just before 4 pm on Wednesday February 12, 2014. Robert Willett/rwillett@newsobserver.com
Inbound Dawson Street is littered with traffic after some folks abandoned their cars trying to enter downtown during a winter storm just before 4 pm on Wednesday February 12, 2014. Robert Willett/rwillett@newsobserver.com
Snow clings to Turron Williams’ beard and eyelashes Wednesday, February 11, 2014 on Hammond Road as snow pounds the Triangle. Williams was helping push cars stuck in the snow. TRAVIS LONG/tlong@newsobserver.com
Snow clings to Turron Williams’ beard and eyelashes Wednesday, February 11, 2014 on Hammond Road as snow pounds the Triangle. Williams was helping push cars stuck in the snow. TRAVIS LONG/tlong@newsobserver.com
A Highway Patrol officer checks on the well being of a stranded motorist Wednesday, February 11, 2014 on Hammond Road in Raleigh, N.C. as snow pounds the Triangle. TRAVIS LONG/tlong@newsobserver.com
A Highway Patrol officer checks on the well being of a stranded motorist Wednesday, February 11, 2014 on Hammond Road in Raleigh, N.C. as snow pounds the Triangle. TRAVIS LONG/tlong@newsobserver.com
Pedestrians stop to look at the mess I-85 had become as motorists and pedestrians attempt to get home as the Triangle is pounded by a winter storm Wednesday Feb. 12, 2014 in Durham, NC. Chuck Liddy/File photo
Pedestrians stop to look at the mess I-85 had become as motorists and pedestrians attempt to get home as the Triangle is pounded by a winter storm Wednesday Feb. 12, 2014 in Durham, NC. Chuck Liddy/File photo
Kara Eckard of Raleigh, N.C. skis down Bloodworth Street during the winter storm on Wednesday February 12, 2014 in Raleigh, N.C. Robert Willett/rwillett@newsobserver.com
Kara Eckard of Raleigh, N.C. skis down Bloodworth Street during the winter storm on Wednesday February 12, 2014 in Raleigh, N.C. Robert Willett/rwillett@newsobserver.com
Dean Webster makes his way up Fayetteville Street to his office after a visit to the Subway for some dinnern on Wednesday night February 12, 2014 in Raleigh, N.C. “It was like an oasis”, Webster said, referring to the restaurant that was open despite the winter storm. Webster said he was prepared to spend the night in his downtown office instead of trying to make to his home off of Glenwood Avenue. Robert Willett/rwillett@newsobserver.com
After lending her shovel to one motorist to move his stranded vehicle off of Avent Ferry Road in Raleigh, Ashley Jermusyk, rear, then leaves her shovel with another stranger, Sam Almheiri, a freshman at NC State and from Hawaii, front, on Thursday, February 13, 2014. He also had to leave his car overnight on Wednesday and walk home. They made arrangements for her to pick it up at a later time. Area residents begin to dig out on the second day of snow in the Triangle region. Corey Lowenstein/clowenst@newsobserver.com
Downtown Raleigh is covered in dense clouds during day two of a winter storm as a man walks across the Wilmington Street bridge on Thursday morning February 13, 2014 in Raleigh, N.C. Robert Willett/rwillett@newsobserver.com
Downtown Raleigh is covered in dense clouds during day two of a winter storm as a man walks across the Wilmington Street bridge on Thursday morning February 13, 2014 in Raleigh, N.C. Robert Willett/rwillett@newsobserver.com
Priscilla Hernandez (pink coat) watches as a wrecker crew pulls her vehicle from the median on Hwy 70 near I-540 Thursday Feb. 13, 2014. Hernandez was ecstatic when the crew pulled her car out of the ditch without causing any damage. Chuck Liddy/cliddy@newsobserver.com
Priscilla Hernandez (pink coat) watches as a wrecker crew pulls her vehicle from the median on Hwy 70 near I-540 Thursday Feb. 13, 2014. Hernandez was ecstatic when the crew pulled her car out of the ditch without causing any damage. Chuck Liddy/cliddy@newsobserver.com
Good samaritan Ken Barkley helps Brandon Mayfield, of Durham, NC retrieve his car on the Avondale Road exit off of southbound I-85 Thursday Feb. 13, 2014. Mayfield had to abandon his car, along with hundreds of other drivers, yesterday afternoon during the height of the storm. Chuck Liddy/cliddy@newsobserver.com
Good samaritan Ken Barkley helps Brandon Mayfield, of Durham, NC retrieve his car on the Avondale Road exit off of southbound I-85 Thursday Feb. 13, 2014. Mayfield had to abandon his car, along with hundreds of other drivers, yesterday afternoon during the height of the storm. Chuck Liddy/cliddy@newsobserver.com
The finished snowman that is the work of Emily and Brendan Payne, Caroline and Ryan Pickens, and Nichole and Matt Horn. Morgan McCloy/mmccloy@newsobserver.com
The finished snowman that is the work of Emily and Brendan Payne, Caroline and Ryan Pickens, and Nichole and Matt Horn. Morgan McCloy/mmccloy@newsobserver.com