High Wind, Buncombe
- When
- May 13, 5:45 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Buncombe forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.611, -82.530 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in North Carolina, May 13, 1997
Mesoscale high winds occurred well behind an area of strong thunderstorms which moved quickly through the mountains and mainly affected the Asheville area. A number of trees and power lines were downed and about 5700 customers were reported to have lost power for several hours.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
Mesoscale high winds occurred well behind an area of strong thunderstorms which moved quickly through the mountains and mainly affected the Asheville area. A number of trees and power lines were downed and about 5700 customers were reported to have lost power for several hours.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Frost and Freeze in Iowa, May 13, 1997
- Strong Wind in South Carolina, May 13, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 13, 1997
- Cold in Nebraska, May 13, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 13, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 13, 1997
- Cold in Iowa, May 13, 1997
- High Wind in Alaska, May 13 to 14, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 13, 1997
- Hail in Virginia, May 13, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 13, 1997
- Wildfire in Nevada, May 13, 1997
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, May 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5598536.