Thunderstorm Wind, Buncombe
- When
- March 20, 9:25 AM EST
- Where
- Buncombe County, Asheville to Weaverville
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.600, -82.570
Tornado and Flash Flood in North Carolina, March 20, 1998
Deep low pressure moved through the Tennessee and Ohio River Valleys on the 20th, pushing a strong cold front east across western North Carolina. Severe thunderstorms developed in a very unstable airmass during the morning in the mountains and the piedmont during the mid-afternoon.
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
- 11
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.
Deep low pressure moved through the Tennessee and Ohio River Valleys on the 20th, pushing a strong cold front east across western North Carolina. Severe thunderstorms developed in a very unstable airmass during the morning in the mountains and the piedmont during the mid-afternoon. Straight-line wind damage resulted in several downed trees. A weak, short-lived tornado was observed by a woman in Mint Hill to briefly touchdown in front of her stopped car. Tornado damage was confined to trees and power lines. Hail up to 2 inches in diameter did quite a bit of damage - especially in the Mint Hill area where dollar amounts were unknown, but considered very high. Hail piled up to a depth of 2 feet in Pineville and twin rope funnel clouds were observed as well. A couple of roads were washed out in western Caldwell county as excessive rain fell on the higher elevations of the county.
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:23 UTC.
Event by event
7 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Avery
- When
- March 20, 9:45 AM EST
- Where
- Avery County, 15 mi S of Newland
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.870, -81.930
Flash Flood, Caldwell
- When
- March 20, 10:30 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Caldwell County, West Portion
- Coordinates
- 35.953, -81.546 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Hail, Gaston
- When
- March 20, 1:40 PM EST
- Where
- Gaston County, Belmont
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.250, -81.050
Hail, Davie
- When
- March 20, 2:15 PM EST
- Where
- Davie County, Farmington
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.020, -80.530
Thunderstorm Wind, Mecklenburg
- When
- March 20, 2:27 PM EST
- Where
- Mecklenburg County, 5 mi S of Charlotte
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 35.170, -80.850
Hail, Mecklenburg
- When
- March 20, 2:27 PM EST
- Where
- Mecklenburg County, 5 mi S of Charlotte
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.170, -80.850
Tornado, Mecklenburg
- When
- March 20, 2:42 PM EST
- Where
- Mecklenburg County, Mint Hill
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.1 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Coordinates
- 35.180, -80.670
Hail, Mecklenburg
- When
- March 20, 2:42 PM EST
- Where
- Mecklenburg County, Mint Hill
- Measured
- 2 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.180, -80.670
Hail, Davie
- When
- March 20, 2:45 PM EST
- Where
- Davie County, Cooleemee
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.820, -80.570
Hail, Cabarrus
- When
- March 20, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Cabarrus County, 4 mi SSE of Harrisburg
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.270, -80.630
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes in Georgia, March 20, 1998
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, March 20, 1998
- Tornadoes in North Carolina, March 20, 1998
- Tornado in North Carolina, March 20, 1998
- Tornado in North Carolina, March 20, 1998
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Virginia, March 20, 1998
- Flood in Florida, March 20 to 31, 1998
- Storm Surge in Ohio, March 20 to 21, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, March 20, 1998
- Flood in Florida, March 20, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Virginia, March 20 to 21, 1998
- Tornado in North Carolina, March 20, 1998
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Carolina, 1998Warnings in North Carolina, March 1998
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: 5638502, 5638503, 5638504, 5638505, 5638506, 5638507, 5638508, 5638509, 5638510, 5638511, 5638512.