A potent upper level disturbance crossed the southeast states on the 19th, interacting with a warm, unstable airmass to produce the first large severe outbreak of the year in western North Carolina.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
A potent upper level disturbance crossed the southeast states on the 19th, interacting with a warm, unstable airmass to produce the first large severe outbreak of the year in western North Carolina.
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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 19, 1:08 PM EST, 7 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 208 PM EDT SAT MAY 19 2001 AREA OF CONVECTION MOVING THROUGH NERN GA ALONG MOISTURE AXIS WHICH STRETCHES NEWD INTO UPSTATE. AIR MASS SOMEWHAT CAPPED WITH SHEAR FAIRLY WEAK. DO NOT EXPECT THESE STORMS TO HOLD TOGETHER VERY LONG INTO FA BUT CONSEQUENCE WILL BE LEFT OVER OUTFLOW BOUNDARY. THIS MIGHT BE FOCUS NEEDED TO BUILD TSTMS LATER. SHORT WAVE TROUGH INCHING TOWARD FA ACROSS TN AND SHOULD MAKE IMPACT KNOWN LATER THIS EVENING. BEST LOW LEVEL MOISTURE ARRIVES AFTER 00Z WHEN LOW LEVEL FLOW BACKS FROM ESSENTIALLY A DRY WSW FLOW TO MORE SW TO S FLOW. COOLER MID LEVEL TEMPERATURES AND STEEPENING LAPSE RATES BY 03-06Z TIME FRAME SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO EITHER SUSTAIN LINE OF CONVECTION FROM AL/GA OR TO ASSIST ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP IN AREA. POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE INCREASES BUT BELIEVE THAT WITH LOSS OF HEATING... POTENTIAL REMAINS MARGINAL FOR MOST OF AREA. PRIME AREAS WILL BE NORTHERN ZONES WHERE ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH BOUNDARY ACROSS VA MIGHT SLIP DOWN AND SOUTHERN ZONES WHERE GA ACTIVITY WILL CERTAINLY BE A FACTOR. DESPITE HIGH WBZ (11-11.5KFT)...HAIL IS ALREADY A THREAT AS CONVECTION OVER GA PRODUCING ICE. BEYOND TONIGHT...SLOW TROUGH PASSAGE LEAVES MOISTURE OVER AREA INTO MONDAY. CHANCE OF PRECIP WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE FCST. WILL KEEP THUNDER IN SUNDAY WITH COOL MID LEVELS KEEPING THINGS SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE. ANOTHER SHORT WAVE TROUGH PUSHES THROUGH MONDAY. IN EXTENDED...HUGE CLOSED LOW PROGGED TO DEVELOP OVER THE OHIO VALLEY. FROPA ACROSS FA LATE TUESDAY SHOULD COOL THINGS DOWN CONSIDERABLY. UNKNOWN IS POTENTIAL FOR MOISTURE TO SLIDE IN TO AREA AROUND LOW AND BRING MORE PRECIP. POSITIONING OF UPPER SYSTEM IN CURRENT MODEL RUNS SUGGESTS LITTLE OR NO PRECIP HERE. WILL CONTINUE THIS TREND FOR NOW. DELGADO FCSTID = 11 GSP 66 82 64 84 / 50 60 40 50 AND 66 82 64 84 / 50 60 40 50 CLT 65 81 64 83 / 50 60 40 50 HKY 63 80 60 79 / 50 60 50 60 AVL 59 77 60 78 / 50 60 40 60 .GSP... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE.
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-200200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 346 PM EDT SAT MAY 19 2001 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE TONIGHT... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE IN TENNESSEE WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA TONIGHT. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS TO BECOME SEVERE...PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WIND. PEOPLE IN THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA SHOULD KEEP INFORMED OF THE WEATHER. SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO ACTIVATE QUICKLY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. DISPATCHERS SHOULD ENSURE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ARE AWARE OF THIS INFORMATION. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR THE LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION. JoAT
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
519 PM EDT SAT MAY 19 2001
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
355 PM SKYLAND NC WIND DAMAGE
05/19/01 BUNCOMBE TREES WERE REPORTED BLOWN
DOWN AT BOTH SKYLAND AND
FAIRVIEW. REPORT RELAYED
BY EOC
410 PM ENKA NC WIND DAMAGE
05/19/01 BUNCOMBE EOC RELAYED REPORT OF
TREES AND A CABLE TV LINE
BLOWN DOWN
JONESPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
612 PM EDT SAT MAY 19 2001
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LO3CATION....
605 PM 15 W TAYLORSVILLE NC WIND DAMAGE
05/19/01 ALEXANDER SPOTTER REPORTS TWO TREES
DOWN.
JATPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
856 PM EDT SAT MAY 19 2001
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
843 PM HUNTERSVILLE NC .75 INCH HAIL
05/19/01 MECKLENBURG REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
OPERATOR
MCAVOYThe Columbia radar (KCAE), 143 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:13 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Emergency operations center reported that the second severe thunderstorm of the evening to hit Mint Hill knocked down more trees and power lines.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, May 2001
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: 5244860.