North Carolina, 2001

High Wind in North Carolina, March 6, 2001

March 6, 2001 · NWS ILM · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

3 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 6, 9:50 AM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 6, 9:50 AM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON, NC
950 AM EST TUE MAR 6 2001

EXTREMELY STRONG SFC PG COMBINED WITH STRONG DYNAMICS OF UPPER LOW
PASSING OFF THE VA-NC COAST THIS AFTN...WILL CONTINUE BLUSTERY
CONDITIONS ACROSS THE FA. LATEST KLTX VWP PROFILE AND NEARBY SNDINGS
IN TOTAL SUPPORT TO CONTINUE WIND ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTN. SAT
IMAGERY WATER VAPOR INDICATES ENUF MOISTURE AVBL FOR BKN TO OVC
SC/CU AS SEEN ON LATEST VIS. CULD POSE SKY PROBLEMS INTO THE 2ND
PERIOD AND WILL ADDRESS IT. WILL INCLUDE THE PSBLTY OF A SNOW FLURRY
IN ALL ZNS THIS AFTN AND EVENG DUE TO THE INSTABILITY OF THE
ATMOSPHERE...ESP IN THESE LOWER LEVELS AS SEEN IN MODEL SNDINGS.
TEMPS...WILL LOWER AFTN MAX TEMPS BY 1 POSSIBLY 2 CATS BASED ON
LATEST OBS AND LATEST PROGGED VARIOUS THICKNESSES.

CWF...GALE WARNING TO CONTINUE AS NW FLOW TO PICK UP ONCE CLOSED
UPPER LOW SLIDES OFF THE MAINLAND AND INTO THE ATLANTIC. 40 KT
SUSTAINED SPEEDS WITH HIER GUSTS STILL NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION THIS
AFTN INTO THIS EVENG.

FCSTID = 11
ILM   41  29  51  30 /  20  20  10  10
LBT   40  28  51  29 /  20  20  10  10
FLO   41  28  51  29 /  20  20  10  10
MYR   42  29  51  30 /  20  20  10  10

.ILM...
NC...GALE WARNING SURF CITY TO LITTLE RIVER INLET AMZ250-252.
  ...WIND ADVISORY NCZ087-096-097-099>101.
SC...GALE WARNING LITTLE RIVER INLET TO S SANTEE RIVER AMZ254-256.
  ...WIND ADVISORY SCZ017-023-024-032>034-039-046.

DCH

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Brunswick

When
March 6, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Brunswick forecast zone
Measured
41 kt (47 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, New Hanover

When
March 6, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
New Hanover forecast zone
Measured
42 kt (48 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Pender

When
March 6, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Pender forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

An intense low pressure system developed off the Atlantic seaboard, causing strong northwest winds to blow over the coastal counties of North Carolina. For most of the afternoon, winds were sustained at 30 to 35 mph with higher gusts. At the airport in Wilmington, the peak wind was measured by ASOS at 47 mph, and at the Southport Elementary School a gust to 46 mph was recorded. Further north along the coast in Pender county, Surf City measured a peak gust at 50 mph. At Sunspree in Wrightsville Beach, the winds topped out at a measured 57 mph. No wind damage was reported.

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

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, March 2001

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: 5234483, 5234484, 5234485.