North Carolina, 2002

Damaging Wind in North Carolina, March 17, 2002

March 17, 2002 · NWS GSP · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
$1,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 17, 5:58 AM EST, 3 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 17, 5:58 AM EST, 3 hours 32 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
558 AM EST SUN MAR 17 2002

ELEVATED CONVECTION CONTINUES TO TRUDGE EAST INTO ZONES WHERE
THUNDER IS NOT CURRENTLY MENTIONED. EXPECT THIS ACTIVITY TO DECREASE
IN INTENSITY AS IT MOVES INTO MORE STABLE AIR...BUT WILL GO AHEAD
AND MENTION A CHANCE OF THUNDER IN ALL ZONES THIS MORNING.

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

LANE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 17, 6:10 AM EST, 3 hours 20 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
610 AM EST SUN MAR 17 2002

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

605 AM     JONESVILLE                SC   .75 INCH HAIL
03/17/02   UNION                          JONESVILLE FIRE DEPT
                                          REPORTED DIME HAIL FOR
                                          APRXLY 5 MINUTES...NOW
                                          TAPERING OFF.

JONES
Special weather statement, Mar 17, 6:46 AM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes before
NCZ033-048>053-058-059-062>065-171700-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
646 AM EST SUN MAR 17 2002

...SOME HEAVY RAIN TODAY AND TONIGHT - AND SOME FLOODING POSSIBLE BY
TONIGHT...

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN MOVING ACROSS PARTS OF THE NORTH
CAROLINA MOUNTAINS OVERNIGHT.  SOME LOCATIONS HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED
HEAVY SHOWERS...BUT WITH DRY CONDITIONS AND LOW STREAM FLOW...IT
WILL TAKE SOME TIME BEFORE HEAVY RAIN BECOMES A PROBLEM.

THE SHOWERS AND STORMS EXTENDED WELL BACK TO THE WEST INTO EAST AND
MIDDLE TENNESSEE.  THERE ARE SOME INDICATIONS THAT STORMS WILL
REPEAT OVER THE SAME PARTS OF THE MOUNTAINS AGAIN AND AGAIN
TODAY...AND INTO TONIGHT.  LATEST DATA SUGGEST THAT THE THREAT FOR
THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL IS TONIGHT.  DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH RAIN FALLS
DURING THE DAY...THERE COULD BE A THREAT OF SOME FLOODING OR FLASH
FLOODING BY TONIGHT.

YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO UPDATED WEATHER FORECASTS TODAY.  IT IS
POSSIBLE A FLOOD WATCH COULD BE ISSUED TODAY FOR PARTS OF THE
MOUNTAINS.  A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS ALREADY BEEN ISSUED BY THE
MORRISTOWN NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWEST
NORTH CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE...AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA.

JONES
Local storm report, Mar 17, 9:25 AM EST, 5 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
925 AM EST SUN MAR 17 2002

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

910 AM     WEBSTER                   NC   WIND DAMAGE
03/17/02   JACKSON                        TREES DOWN IN WEBSTER AND
                                          POWERLINES DOWN IN
                                          CULLOWHEE

TJB

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:31 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Buncombe

When
March 17, 9:30 AM EST
Where
Buncombe County, 2 mi ESE of Asheville
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.583, -82.533

A few trees were reported blown down.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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, March 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: 5285696.