North Carolina, 2006

High Wind in North Carolina, January 14 to 15, 2006

January 14 to 15, 2006 · NWS GSP · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

Strong winds developed behind a cold front across the mountains and foothills of North Carolina during the late morning, and continued through the remainder of the day. There was widespread damage to trees and power lines, with quite a few power outages.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
$10,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

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.

Strong winds developed behind a cold front across the mountains and foothills of North Carolina during the late morning, and continued through the remainder of the day. There was widespread damage to trees and power lines, with quite a few power outages. The hardest hit areas were along and near the Blue Ridge south of I-40. There were tens of thousands of power outages, 14,000 in Henderson County alone . The area around Lake Lure was especially hard hit, with numerous trees and lines down.

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 Jan 14, 3:28 AM EST, 4 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 14, 3:28 AM EST, 4 hours 32 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 14, 5:49 AM EST, 2 hours 11 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Haywood

When
January 14, 8:00 AM EST to January 15, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Haywood forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.556, -82.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Buncombe

When
January 14, 8:00 AM EST to January 15, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Buncombe forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 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
January 14, 8:00 AM EST to January 15, 2:00 AM EST
Where
McDowell forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

High Wind, Burke

When
January 14, 8:00 AM EST to January 15, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Burke forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

High Wind, Macon

When
January 14, 8:00 AM EST to January 15, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Macon forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.150, -83.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southern Jackson

When
January 14, 8:00 AM EST to January 15, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Jackson forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.287, -83.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Transylvania

When
January 14, 8:00 AM EST to January 15, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Transylvania forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.202, -82.798 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Henderson

When
January 14, 8:00 AM EST to January 15, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Henderson forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.336, -82.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Polk

When
January 14, 8:00 AM EST to January 15, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Polk forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

High Wind, Rutherford

When
January 14, 8:00 AM EST to January 15, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Rutherford forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

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 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, January 2006

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5491524, 5491525, 5491526, 5491527, 5491528, 5491529, 5491530, 5491617, 5491618, 5491619.