North Carolina, 2002

High Wind in North Carolina, January 6, 2002

January 6, 2002 · NWS ILM · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

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

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 Jan 6, 10:15 AM EST, 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 6, 10:15 AM EST, 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON, NC
1015 AM EST SUN JAN 6 2002

PCPN WIDESPREAD OVER THE REGION CURRENTLY BUT RAPIDLY HEADING NORTH
WITH DRYING ALREADY OCCURRING OVER PORTIONS OF SC. HENCE WILL NEED
TO PULL POPS OUT OF TONIGHT PERIOD OF FCST. FOR THIS
AFTERNOON...WILL NEED TO ADJUST WORDING TO INDICATE ONGOING PCPN
TAPERING OFF LATER IN THE AFTERNOON BUT WILL NEED TO KEEP POPS UP
FOR NOW...MAYBE INITIALIZING WITH LIKELY EARLY THIS AFTN AND THEN TO
CHC POPS LATER.

TEMPS WILL BE TRICKY AS WARM FRONT PUSHING NORTH. ALL AREAS WILL
NEED TO BE BUMPED UP. FINAL DECISIONS ON TEMPS AFTER A LOOK AT 11 AM
OBS. STRONGER WINDS BEGINNING TO MIX DOWN LATE THIS MORNING. VAD
WIND PROFILE SHOWING 35 KTS AT 1000 FT. WILL KEEP WIND ADVISORY IN
EFFECT FOR COASTAL COUNTIES THIS AFTN AS LOW DEPARTS.

CWF: FPSN7 BLOWING GALES PAST FEW HOURS AND GUSTY WINDS BEGINNING TO
MIX DOWN AT BEACHES. PLAN TO KEEP GALE WARNING GOING THIS AFTN. WILL
CLEAN UP FCST WORDING TO REFLECT CURRENT OBS AND SCALE BACK SC
PORTION WINDS JUST A LITTLE.

FCSTID = 30
ILM   65  37  48  26 /  70  10  10   0
LBT   50  35  46  26 /  70  10  10   0
FLO   50  35  47  26 /  70  10  10   0
MYR   63  37  48  26 /  70  10  10   0

.ILM...
NC...GALE WARNING AMZ250-252.
     WIND ADVISORY IMMEDIATE COAST NCZ097-100-101.
SC...GALE WARNING AMZ254-256.
     WIND ADVISORY IMMEDIATE COAST SCZ034-046.

PJN

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, New Hanover

When
January 6, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
New Hanover forecast zone
Measured
45 kt (52 mph)
Reported by
COASTAL OBSERVING STATION

High Wind, Pender

When
January 6, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Pender forecast zone
Measured
44 kt (51 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Strong south winds ahead of a cold front produced gusts over 50 mph in both Pender and New Hanover counties. In the town of Watha, a gust of 51 mph was reported. In Wrightsville Beach, weather instruments reported a gust to 52 mph. The ASOS site at the Wilmington airport reported a gust to48 mph. No 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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, January 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: 5277389, 5277390.