High Wind in North Carolina, December 25 to 26, 2002

Name: High Wind in North Carolina, December 25 to 26, 2002
Start: 2002-12-25T10:00
End: 2002-12-26T00:00
Location: North Carolina

December 25 to 26, 2002 · NWS GSP · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Very strong winds developed during the late morning across the mountains and foothills. Wind gusts reached an estimated 60 to 75 mph across the higher elevations.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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.

Very strong winds developed during the late morning across the mountains and foothills. Wind gusts reached an estimated 60 to 75 mph across the higher elevations. Damage to trees and power lines was widespread, and power outages were numerous. Some trees fell on vehicles and structures.

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 Dec 25, 4:13 AM EST, 5 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 25, 4:13 AM EST, 5 hours 47 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
413 AM EST WED DEC 25 2002

WILL START PACKAGE TODAY WITH LINGERING SHOWER CHANCES ACRS
THE NORTHERN TIER AS DPVA AND RATHER STEEP MID-LVL LAPSE RATES
ASSOCIATED WITH UPPER VORT MOVE NE OF THE CWFA BY 12Z. 88D LOOPS
INDICATE SHOWERS EXTEND WESTWARD INTO ERN TENN & WITH CRITICAL
850-700 MB THICKNESS VALUES PLUNGING INTO THE NC MTNS DURING
09-12Z...LIKELY TO SEE HIGHER ELEVATION CHANGEOVER. FEEL THAT
DURING 12-15Z ENOUGH COLD AIR WILL HAVE ADVECTED IN SO THAT
ANYTHING FALLS IN THE MTNS AFTER THIS TIME...WILL BE ALL
FROZEN.

AS THE DAY WEARS ON THE COMBINATION OF A TIGHT GRADIENT...CAA
AND A 45-50 KT NW 85H JET SHOULD RESULT IN WIND ADVISORY
CONDITIONS FOR THE MTNS...WITH POTENTIAL FOR 40 MPH GUSTS
EAST OF THE MTNS. BETTER ORTHOGONAL COMPONENT OF LLVL WIND
FIELD BEGINS THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUES INTO THIS EVENING...
SO WOULD EXPECT BEST NW FLOW SNOW SHOWER POTENTIAL DURING THIS
TIME. WITH COLD 850 MB TEMPS...NEAR -10C...FEEL POTENTIAL FOR
ADVISORY CRITERIA ACCUMS IS LIKELY FOR THE TN BORDER COUNTIES.

AFTER TONIGHT...WX CONDS QUIET DOWN NOTABLY STARTING ON THURSDAY
WITH JUST SOME SCT MID-HI CLDS EXPECTED WITH CHANNELED VORT
ENERGY ZIPPING ACROSS IN THE FAST WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. 00Z GFS
CONTINUES TO ADVERTISE SOME AMPLIFICATION TO UPPER PATTERN FRIDAY
INTO SATURDAY...BUT MUCH OF THE S/WV ENERGY AND BETTER RH CONTINUES
TO REMAIN TO OUR NORTH.

FCSTID =  55
GSP   46  26  48  25 /  10   0   0   0
AND   46  26  48  25 /  10   0   0   0
CLT   46  26  48  25 /  20   0   0   0
HKY   44  24  44  22 /  20   0   0   0
AVL   36  21  40  21 /  20  20   0   0

.GSP...
GA...WIND ADVISORY THROUGH MIDNIGHT GAZ010-017.
WIND ADVISORY FOR AREA LAKES TODAY GAZ018-026-028-029.
NC...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH TONIGHT NCZ033-048>050.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH MIDNIGHT NCZ051>052-058.
WIND ADVISORY THROUGH MIDNIGHT NCZ033-048>053-058>059-062>065.
WIND ADVISORY FOR AREA LAKES TODAY NCZ034>037-054>057-066>072-082.
SC...WIND ADVISORY THROUGH MIDNIGHT SCZ001>003.
WIND ADVISORY FOR AREA LAKES TODAY SCZ004>014-Z019.

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 25, 6:07 AM EST, 3 hours 53 minutes before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-251300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
607 AM EST WED DEC 25 2002

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

.DAY ONE...

STRONG WIND GUSTS AND NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS WILL
BE SEE ACROSS THE REGION INTO TONIGHT. FOR FURTHER DETAILS...
PLEASE REFER TO THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS AND ADVISORIES ISSUED
BY THIS OFFICE...NPWGSP...WSWGSP...SPSGSP.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE
STRONG WINDS OR ANY SNOW ACCUMULATION.

55

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 25, 4:00 AM EST, 6 hours before

GAZ018-026-028-029-NCZ034>037-054>057-066>072-082-SCZ004>014-019-
251600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
400 AM EST WED DEC 25 2002

...WINDY CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH THIS EVENING ACROSS THE
FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT OF THE CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA...

AS STRONG LOW PRESSURE MOVES NORTHEAST UP THE MID ATLANTIC COAST
TODAY...WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL STEADILY INCREASE THROUGHOUT
THE DAY. WIND SPEEDS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH 20 TO 30 MPH WITH
OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO NEAR 40 MPH THROUGHOUT THE FOOTHILLS AND
PIEDMONT OF THE CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA.

WHILE THESE WIND SPEEDS ARE TYPICALLY NOT GREAT ENOUGH TO PRODUCE
WIND DAMAGE...TREES WEAKENED BY THE ICE STORM EARLIER THIS MONTH MAY
BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO LOSING DAMAGED LIMBS TODAY. ALSO...RECENT
EXCESSIVE RAINFALL HAS LEFT THE SOIL QUITE SATURATED. WEAK AND
SHALLOW ROOTED TREES COULD BE BLOWN DOWN BY THE 40 MPH WIND
GUSTS...ESPECIALLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING. THE GUSTY
WINDS SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

HG

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Avery

When: December 25, 10:00 AM EST to December 26, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Avery forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.077, -81.922 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Madison

When: December 25, 10:00 AM EST to December 26, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.858, -82.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Caldwell

When: December 25, 10:00 AM EST to December 26, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Caldwell forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT

High Wind, Mitchell

When: December 25, 10:00 AM EST to December 26, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Mitchell forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.013, -82.163 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Buncombe

When: December 25, 10:00 AM EST to December 26, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Buncombe forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.611, -82.530 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, McDowell

When: December 25, 10:00 AM EST to December 26, 12:00 AM EST
Where: McDowell forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT

High Wind, Burke

When: December 25, 10:00 AM EST to December 26, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Burke forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT

High Wind, Macon

When: December 25, 10:00 AM EST to December 26, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Macon forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.150, -83.422 (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 North Carolina in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, December 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: 5326641, 5326642, 5326643, 5326644, 5326645, 5326646, 5326647, 5326648.