North Carolina, 1999

Tornado and Hail in North Carolina, May 5 to 6, 1999

May 5 to 6, 1999 · NWS GSP · 13 events in 6 counties and zones

Two lines of strong and severe thunderstorms moved across the mountains during the early morning hours, causing a considerable amount of wind damage. One severe thunderstorm spawned a weak tornado in the city of Asheville around sunrise.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$310,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
13

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.

Two lines of strong and severe thunderstorms moved across the mountains during the early morning hours, causing a considerable amount of wind damage. One severe thunderstorm spawned a weak tornado in the city of Asheville around sunrise. Along the 2 mile damage path, 500 trees were downed, many on homes and vehicles. A garage was destroyed, roofs were blown partially off a couple buildings, a school roof was damaged, and some condos were condemned from tree damage. Elsewhere in the mountains, damaging thunderstorm winds of nearly 70 mph at times blew numerous trees down, many on houses and cars. A few thousand people were left without power. In addition to damaging wind, a few reports of dime to quarter size hail were received. Intense lightning in Robbinsville knocked out the Graham county 911 system for the entire day, and wind gusts near 55 mph blew numerous small limbs onto power lines which resulted in additional power outages across the county.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 lightning, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Graham

When
May 5, 11:30 PM EST to May 6, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Graham County, Robbinsville
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.350, -83.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Macon

When
May 6, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Macon County, Highlands
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.050, -83.200

Thunderstorm Wind, Swain

When
May 6, 1:15 AM EST to 1:29 AM EST
Where
Swain County, Bryson City to 8 mi S of Bryson City
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates
35.430, -83.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Jackson

When
May 6, 1:45 AM EST
Where
Jackson County, Balsam
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by
DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates
35.430, -83.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Haywood

When
May 6, 1:55 AM EST
Where
Haywood County, Waynesville
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.500, -83.000

Hail, Haywood

When
May 6, 1:55 AM EST
Where
Haywood County, Waynesville
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.500, -83.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Macon

When
May 6, 4:00 AM EST
Where
Macon County, Cowee
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
35.270, -83.420

Thunderstorm Wind, Jackson

When
May 6, 4:15 AM EST to 4:29 AM EST
Where
Jackson County, Savannah to Gay
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.320, -83.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Jackson

When
May 6, 4:15 AM EST to 4:25 AM EST
Where
Jackson County, Cullowhee to Sylva
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.320, -83.180

Hail, Jackson

When
May 6, 4:15 AM EST to 4:25 AM EST
Where
Jackson County, Cullowhee to Sylva
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.320, -83.180

Tornado, Buncombe

When
May 6, 5:02 AM EST to 5:10 AM EST
Where
Buncombe County, Asheville
Rating
F1
Path length
2 mi
Path width
440 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
35.600, -82.570

Hail, Buncombe

When
May 6, 5:02 AM EST to 5:10 AM EST
Where
Buncombe County, Asheville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.600, -82.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Buncombe

When
May 6, 5:28 AM EST
Where
Buncombe County, Swannanoa
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.600, -82.400

What these are

Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
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

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Carolina, 1999Warnings in North Carolina, May 1999

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: 5697788, 5697789, 5697790, 5697791, 5697792, 5697793, 5697794, 5697795, 5697796, 5697797, 5697798, 5697799, 5697800.