A strong cold front moved across western North Carolina during the evening hours. Thunderstorms developed along the front over the northwest Piedmont, a few of which produced damaging winds.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
A strong cold front moved across western North Carolina during the evening hours. Thunderstorms developed along the front over the northwest Piedmont, a few of which produced damaging winds.
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 28, 1:47 PM EST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 247 PM EDT MON SEP 28 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE AREA BY THIS EVENING...AND MOVE OFF THE CAROLINA AND GEORGIA COAST TONIGHT. COOLER AND DRIER AIR WILL BLANKET THE AREA AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION. THE AIRMASS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE MOST THE WEEK BEFORE ANOTHER COLD FRONT APPROACHES BY THE WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/... AT 1830Z...SFC OBS...SATELLITE...AND RADAR DATA INDICATED THAT THE COLD FRONT ALONG THE TN BORDER COUNTIES OF NORTH CAROLINA. LATEST LAPS CAPE ANALYSIS SHOWS CAPE VALUES AHEAD OF THE FRONT RANGED FROM 800-1400 J/KG. HOWEVER...A SIGNIFICANT INVERSION AROUND H7 AND DRY LLVL AIR SHOULD KEEP MEASURABLE CIN VALUES ACROSS THE PRE FRONTAL AREAS. I WILL FORECAST COVERAGE LESS THAN 20 PERCENT FOR THE REST OF THE FIRST PERIOD. ACTIVE LLVL MIXING WILL KEEP GUSTS INTO THE L20 KTS THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. AFTER 23Z...SPEEDS SHOULD FALL INTO THE 7-10 KTS RANGE. THE COLD FRONT SHOULD PUSH EAST OF THE CWA BY MID EVENING. CAA BEHIND THE FRONT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SUNRISE TUESDAY. USING THE PREFERRED MET MOS AND NAM12...MIN TEMPERATURES SHOULD TO THE MID 40S WITHIN THE MTN VALLEYS AND L50S EAST. A FEW MTN PEAKS COULD SEE VALUES FALL INTO THE U30S. SKY COVER SHOULD BECOME MOSTLY CLEAR WITH A WNW WIND BETWEEN 6-8 KTS. ON TUESDAY...LLVL THICKNESS AND H85 TEMPS WILL REMAIN VERY COOL. HOWEVER...WEAK DOWNSLOPE FLOW AND STRONG INSOLATION WILL ALLOW A WIDE DIURNAL SWING IN TEMPERATURES. USING A BLEND OF MET MOS AND NAM12 SFC TEMPS...I WILL FORECAST HIGH TEMPERATURES WELL BELOW NORMAL. HIGH TEMPERATURES SHOULD RANGE FROM THE L60S ACROSS THE MTNS AND L70S EAST. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 135 PM MONDAY...THE SHORT RANGE STILL LOOKS LIKE A SHORT STRETCH OF DRY AND SEASONALLY COOL EARLY FALL WEATHER. THE MODELS AGREE WITH A SLOWLY EVOLVING PATTERN WITH A DEEP UPPER TROF ON THE EAST COAST AND A RIDGE OVER THE PLAINS. WITH THE AXIS OF THE TROF ALREADY TO OUR EAST AND THE AXIS OF THE UPPER RIDGE REMAINING TO OUR WEST THROUGH THURSDAY...THAT KEEPS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS UNDER A NW FLOW ALOFT AND HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE. EXPECT SKY TO BE MOSTLY CLEAR THROUGH THE PERIOD. TEMPS WERE NUDGED TOWARD A GUIDANCE BLEND. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... AS OF 215 PM MONDAY...THE LATEST GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO FOCUS ON THE FRIDAY NIGHT OR SATURDAY TIME FRAME FOR MOVING A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. THE UPPER RIDGE AXIS SHOULD MOVE OVERHEAD SOME TIME EARLY IN THE DAY FRIDAY WHICH SHOULD ALLOW MOISTURE TO RETURN. THERE IS SOME BRIEF TAP FROM THE GULF ACCORDING TO THE MODELS... WHICH MAY BE A RECENT TREND. THE MOSGUIDE AND HPC NUMBERS SHOW A CHANCE OF PRECIP ACROSS THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING. A RIBBON OF DEEPER MOISTURE SHOULD MOVE THROUGH AHEAD OF THE FRONT ALONG WITH SOME UPPER DIVERGENCE. HAVE FOLLOWED THIS TREND AND EXPANDED CHANCE POP AREA...BUT KEPT LOWER POP OVER THE EAST AFTER COLLABORATION WITH NEIGHBORS. THIS SYSTEM SHOULD EXIT TO THE EAST BY LATE SATURDAY. AFTER THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH...THE UPPER LOW IS FORECAST TO LIFT NE ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES AND INTO WRN ONTARIO...WHICH RESULTS IN A NEARLY ZONAL FLOW ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS FROM SUNDAY ONWARD. THIS WILL SUPPORT HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE AND DRY SEASONAL WEATHER FOR THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION /19Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... AT KCLT...VISIBILITY AND CEILING WILL REMAIN VFR THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. THE DEPTH OF THE MIXING LAYER WILL QUICKLY DECREASE AROUND SUNSET...REDUCING THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT GUSTS. UNTIL 23Z...SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO GUSTS TO THE LOW 20 KTS. THIS EVENING...A WEST CROSS WIND AROUND 6-10 KTS MAY REMAIN ACROSS THE TERMINAL. WINDS SHOULD VEER TO NORTHWEST AROUND MIDNIGHT...SPEEDS FORECAST TO RANGE FROM 4-8 KTS. AFTER SUNRISE...NORTHWEST WINDS ARE FORECAST TO STRENGTHEN TO 8-10 KTS. ELSEWHERE...VISIBILITIES AND CEILINGS WILL REMAIN VFR THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS THROUGH SUNSET. KAVL WILL SEE WINDS FAVOR A NORTHWEST DIRECTION THE REST OF THIS AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT. WIND DIRECTIONS ARE FORECAST TO REMAIN WNW...NW AT KAVL...AFTER SUNRISE TUESDAY. SPEEDS WILL RANGE NEAR 10KTS...WITH MARGINAL GUSTS AT KAVL BY MID MORNING. OUTLOOK...A CONTINENTAL AIR MASS WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION THROUGH THE REST OF THE WORK WEEK. CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST TO REMAIN VFR. HOWEVER...THE MTN VALLEYS COULD SEE A FEW PERIODS OF SHALLOW FOG DURING THE PRE DAWN HOURS. && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...TJB NEAR TERM...NED SHORT TERM...PM LONG TERM...PM AVIATION...NED
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1232 PM EDT MON SEP 28 2009 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033-035>037-048>053-056>059-062>065- 068>072-082-501>510-SCZ001>014-019-291645- RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-AVERY-ALEXANDER- IREDELL-DAVIE-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-BUNCOMBE-CATAWBA- ROWAN-GRAHAM-NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA- HENDERSON-CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS-UNION NC- CALDWELL MOUNTAINS-GREATER CALDWELL-BURKE MOUNTAINS-GREATER BURKE- MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS-EASTERN MCDOWELL-RUTHERFORD MOUNTAINS- GREATER RUTHERFORD-POLK MOUNTAINS-EASTERN POLK-OCONEE MOUNTAINS- PICKENS MOUNTAINS-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS-GREATER OCONEE- GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG-CHEROKEE-YORK- ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- 1232 PM EDT MON SEP 28 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SOUTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 25 MPH WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON. GUSTS MAY REACH 35 MPH ACROSS THE HIGH ELEVATIONS LATE THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE.
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 122 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:25 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees were down near the intersection of Rocky Ford Rd and Powell Bridge Rd.
Trees were blown down on Liberty Church Road, a little more than 6 miles west of Farmington.
Large tree limbs were blown down three miles northeast of Farmington.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, September 2009
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: 198033, 198036, 198037.