As the remnants of Ivan retreated toward the mid-Atlantic region, high pressure building in behind the circulation caused a resurgence of strong winds across the mountains. This resulted in additional tree and power line damage.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
As the remnants of Ivan retreated toward the mid-Atlantic region, high pressure building in behind the circulation caused a resurgence of strong winds across the mountains. This resulted in additional tree and power line damage.
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 Sep 17, 6:58 PM EST, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
758 PM EDT FRI SEP 17 2004
.SHORT TERM (REST OF TONIGHT)...
PUBLIC ZONES HAVE BEEN UPDATED...TO REFLECT LOWER CHANCES OF RAIN IN
THE SOUTH AND WEST...AND ADJUSTED SKY COVER. WE ALSO DECIDED TO
UPGRADE THE WIND ADVISORY FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS TO HIGH
WIND WARNING...BASED PRIMARILY ON THE FOLLOWING: 1) PRESSURE
GRADIENT WILL INCREASE OVERNIGHT AS THE REMNANT LOW THAT WAS IVAN
PUSHES EAST 2) COLD ADVECTION AND STRONG SHIFT TO NORTHWEST
DIRECTION WILL LIKELY ENHANCE SUBSIDENCE INTO HIGHER ELEVATIONS 3)
WE RECEIVED REPORT OF A RECENT WIND GUST TO 54 KNOTS AT ELEVATION
4320 FEET IN THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS 4) WEAK SPEED MAX BETWEEN 85H
AND 70H ADVERTISED ON 18Z RUNS OF THE ETA AND GFS...AS WELL AS THE
MOST RECENT RUC. WE ALSO POSTED A WIND ADVISORY FOR THE ADJACENT
NORTH CAROLINA FOOTHILLS.
ANOTHER UPDATE WILL BE ISSUED LATER AFTER UPPER AIR ANALYSIS WAS
COMPLETED.
&&
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
THE FOLLOWING WAS ORIGINALLY ISSUED AT 228 PM EDT FRI SEP 17 2004
SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT)...
MAJOR CHANGES IN STORE FOR FORECAST. MODELS HAVE COME INTO AGREEMENT
WITH REMNANTS OF IVAN...MOVING SYSTEM NE INTO VA TONIGHT...BEFORE
TURNING SYSTEM SE TOWARD NC COAST. DRYING TO BE MORE RAPID THAN
EXPECTED. WILL CANCEL FLOOD WATCH EVERYWHERE EXCEPT NC MTS/FOOTHILLS
WHERE FLOODING ONGOING...WHERE WATCH WILL CONTINUE THORUGH TONIGHT
ONLY. NW FLOW DEVELOPING ON BACK SIDE OF SYSTEM RATHER ROBUST...
WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 50 MPH SOME HIGH ELEVATIONS...THROUGH SUSTATINED
WINDS GENERALLY LESS THAN 40 MPH. WILL ISSUE WIND ADVISORY NC MTS
TONIGHT.
BEHIND IVAN MODELS VERY AGRESSIVE WITH COOLING/DRYING...EXHIBITING
AN ALMOST OCTOBER LIKE WEEKEND. WITH SUCH GOOD AGREEMENT IN MODELS...
HAVE TRENDED IN THAT DIRECTION...THOUGH NOT SO STRONGLY...SINCE
SOME UNCERTAINTY MUST STILL EXIST WITH IVAN AND NEW SOLUTION IS
SUCH A DIVERGENCE FROM PAST SOLUTIONS.
LONG TERM (TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY)...
MEDIUM RANGE FORECAST HAS SURFACE RIDGE TO NE OF AREA...WITH E
COMPONENT DRIVING DRY AIR SW INTO AREA...WHILE MOISTURE ASSOCIATED
WITH REMAINS OF IVAN STAYS NEAR NEAR COAST. WILL LIMIT POPS TO
SLIGHT CHANCE THROUGH THU...PRIMARILY MTS DUE TO UPSLOPE COMPONENT.
ON FRI REMNANTS OF JEANNE EXPECTED TO PASS TO S OF AREA...THEN COLD
FRONT APPROAHCES FROM NW...SUPPORTING CHANCE POPS. OF COURSE A CHANGE
IN TRACK OF JEANNE COULD IMPACT FORECAST GREATLY. TEMPERATURES SLOW
TO RECOVER IN NE FLOW...WITH LIMTED DIURNAL RANGE BEFORE FRONT AT END
OF WEEK.
AVIATION...
COPIOUS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE CONTINUES ACROSS THE AREA TODAY. EXPECT A
SLOW WEST TO EAST END TO THE SHOWERS AS THE LOW SLOWLY MOVES EAST
AND TAKES THE BEST LIFT WITH IT. WINDS ACROSS THE MTNS ARE BEGINNING
TO SHIFT TO THE NW AS THE SFC LOW PULLS AWAY FROM THE AREA. WINDS
SHIFTING TO THE SW OVER GA/SC AS TROF TRAILING SOUTHWARD FROM THE
LOW MOVES THRU. THE WIND WILL GRADUALLY SHIFT TO THE WEST THEN NW
OVERNIGHT. WIND SHIFT WILL BEGIN LATER OVER FOOTHILLS/PIEDMONT OF NC
BUT THE TREND WILL BE SIMILAR. CIGS IN THE WEST WILL SHOW AN
IMPROVEMENT TO VFR BY EVENING AS WIND SHIFTS AND MOISTURE PULLS
AWAY. ERN SITES WILL HAVE A SIMILAR TREND BUT SLOWER ONSET. NOT
EXPECTING MUCH FOG OVERNIGHT AS DRY AIR FILTERS IN ON THE NWLY FLOW
BEHIND THE LOW. WIND SPEEDS WILL DIMINISH AS WELL...XCPT OVER KAVL
WHERE NWLY FLOW INTO THE VALLEY WILL KEEP WINDS UP. EXPECT GUSTY
WINDS ALL AREAS BY ABOUT 14Z SAT MORN AS MIXING BEGINS BRINING THE
HIGHER WINDS TO THE SFC.
&&
.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR ZONES GAZ010-017 UNTIL 6 AM EDT.
NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR ZONES NCZ033-048>053-058-059-062>065 UNTIL 6 AM
EDT.
...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR ZONES NCZ033-048>053-058-059-
062>065 UNTIL 6 AM EDT.
...WIND ADVISORY FOR ZONES NCZ034-054-055-066-067 UNTIL 6 AM EDT.
SC...LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR ZONES SCZ001>003 UNTIL 6 AM EDT.
&&
SHORT TERM (UPDATE)...SABHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 605 AM EDT FRI SEP 17 2004 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-181004- ABBEVILLE SC-ALEXANDER NC-ANDERSON SC-AVERY NC-BUNCOMBE NC-BURKE NC- CABARRUS NC-CALDWELL NC-CATAWBA NC-CHEROKEE SC-CHESTER SC- CLEVELAND NC-DAVIE NC-ELBERT GA-FRANKLIN GA-GASTON NC-GRAHAM NC- GREATER GREENVILLE SC-GREATER OCONEE SC-GREATER PICKENS SC- GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS SC-GREENWOOD SC-HABERSHAM GA-HART GA-HAYWOOD NC- HENDERSON NC-IREDELL NC-LAURENS SC-LINCOLN NC-MACON NC-MADISON NC- MCDOWELL NC-MECKLENBURG NC-MITCHELL NC-NORTHERN JACKSON NC- OCONEE MOUNTAINS SC-PICKENS MOUNTAINS SC-POLK NC-RABUN GA-ROWAN NC- RUTHERFORD NC-SOUTHERN JACKSON NC-SPARTANBURG SC-STEPHENS GA- SWAIN NC-TRANSYLVANIA NC-UNION SC-UNION NC-YANCEY NC-YORK SC- 605 AM EDT FRI SEP 17 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE... THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM IVAN WILL BRING CONTINUED FLOODING AND HIGH WINDS TO THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT. PLEASE SEE THE FLOOD WATCH...CAEFFAGSP...AND THE HIGH WIND WARNING...CAENPWGSP...FOR FURTHERN INFORMATION. IN ADDITION...ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... PAST TONIGHT...THERE IS CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE EVENTUAL TRACK OF THE REMNANTS OF IVAN. THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN AND FLOODING WILL PERSIST UNTIL THE SYSTEM MOVES OUT OF THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY TODAY. LANE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, September 2004
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: 5423587, 5423588.