High Wind in Georgia, November 6, 2002

Name: High Wind in Georgia, November 6, 2002
Start: 2002-11-06T10:00
End: 2002-11-06T20:00
Location: Georgia

November 6, 2002 · NWS GSP · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

High winds behind a cold front caused numerous trees to fall across the foothills and portions of the mountains of northeast Georgia.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

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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 happened

The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.

High winds behind a cold front caused numerous trees to fall across the foothills and portions of the mountains of northeast Georgia.

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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 6, 1:37 AM EST, 8 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 6, 1:37 AM EST, 8 hours 23 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
137 AM EST WED NOV 6 2002

A STRONG...FAST MOVING SHORT WAVE WILL ZIP ACROSS THE CWA EARLY THIS
AFTERNOON...AND HELP RAPIDLY DEEPEN LOW PRESSURE EAST OF NEW ENGLAND
TONIGHT AND THURSDAY.

SEVERAL PARAMETERS INDICATE HIGH WIND POTENTIAL IN PARTS OF THE MTNS
THIS AFTERNOON. AS THE WAVE PASSES...DEEP UNIDIRECTIONAL FLOW AND A
DEEP MIXED LAYER DEVELOP. BUFKIT SOUNDINGS SHOW AROUND 50 KTS AT THE
TOP OF THE MIXED LAYER OVER THE MTNS THIS AFTN. SFC PRESSURES RISE
AROUND 12 MB OVER THE AREA TDA...ANOTHER STRONGLY AUSPICIOUS SIGN
FOR STRONG WINDS.

THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGE WILL BE IN THE NRN NC MTNS...AND IN
THE FRENCH BROAD VALLEY WHERE THIS TYPE OF FLOW IS ALSO CHANNELED BY
THE TERRAIN. WL ISSUE A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE NRN MTNS AND THE
FRENCH BROAD VALLEY TDA...AND A WIND ADVISORY FOR THE REST OF THE
MTNS AND THE NC FOOTHILLS. IT APPEARS THAT THE MAX GUST POTENTIAL
FATHER EAST IS ONLY AROUND 40 MPH...SO WL HOLD OFF ON ANY ADVISORIES
ATTM. HOWEVER...WITH THE STRONG SUBSIDENCE...THE DAY SHIFT WL HAVE
TO WATCH THIS CLOSELY.

LOOKING AT THE TRI MODEL SOUNDING...THERE IS PRETTY GOOD LLVL CAPE
MOST OF THE DAY. SHRA IN THE UPSLOPE AREAS IS A GIVEN. AS THE STRONG
H5 VORT SWEEPS THROUGH...VERY POSSIBLE THAT A NARROW BAND OF SHRA WL
PUSH ACROSS MOST OF THE NC ZONES.

WL KEEP THE SHSN IN THE NRN MTNS TNGT.

REST OF THE FORECAST LOOKS GOOD. MADE A FEW CHANGES TO TEMPS THU AND
FRI...BUT NOTHING MORE THAN A DEGREE OR TWO FROM THE PREVIOUS
FORECAST.

FCSTID =   14
GSP   58  37  60  35 /  10   0   0   0
AND   59  37  60  36 /  10   0   0   0
CLT   60  35  61  36 /  10   0   0   0
HKY   55  36  58  35 /  10   0   0   0
AVL   49  34  54  33 /  20   0   0   0

.GSP...
GA...WIND ADVISORY FOR TODAY FOR ZONES GAZ010...GAZ017.

NC...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR TODAY FOR ZONES
NCZ033...NCZ048>050...NCZ053...NCZ065.

WIND ADVISORY FOR TODAY FOR ZONES NCZ034...NCZ051>052...NCZ054>055...
NCZ058>059...NCZ062>064...NCZ066>067.

SC...WIND ADVISORY FOR TODAY FOR ZONES SCZ001>003.

MCAVOY

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 6, 5:45 AM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-061300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
545 AM EST WED NOV 6 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA.

.DAY ONE...

STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTH
CAROLINA BEGINNING LATE THIS MORNING. OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS
AND IN THE FRENCH BROAD VALLEY...WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BE STRONG
ENOUGH TO FELL A NUMBER OF TREES AND POWER LINES. ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE IN OUR PRODUCT CAENPWGSP.

LATE TONIGHT...SOME PATCHY FROST IS POSSIBLE IN THE UPSTATE AND THE
SOUTHERN NORTH CAROLINA PIEDMONT. THE GROWING SEASON HAS ENDED IN
THE MOUNTAINS OF THE CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA...AS WELL AS
AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40. NO ADDITIONAL FROST
ADVISORIES OR FREEZE WARNINGS WILL BE ISSUED FOR THESE AREAS.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED FOR THE PURPOSE OF REPORTING WIND
DAMAGE LATER TODAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

PATCHY FROST WILL BE POSSIBLE AGAIN FRIDAY MORNING.

MCAVOY

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Habersham

When: November 6, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Habersham forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.631, -83.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Stephens

When: November 6, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Stephens forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.554, -83.293 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Franklin

When: November 6, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.375, -83.229 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Georgia in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Georgia, November 2002

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: 5321391, 5321392, 5321393.