North Carolina, 2023

High Wind in North Carolina, April 1 to 2, 2023

April 1 to 2, 2023 · NWS RNK · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

High winds occurred after the passage of a cold front. These winds helped to cause a great abundance of trees and power lines to be blown or taken down across the region.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
$340,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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 RNK wrote it up.

High winds occurred after the passage of a cold front. These winds helped to cause a great abundance of trees and power lines to be blown or taken down across the region. Given the dry conditions across the region, many of the downed power lines sparked small brush fires.

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 1, 1:41 PM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 1, 1:41 PM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 1, 1:41 PM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 1, 2:22 PM EST, 38 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 1, 2:24 PM EST, 36 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 1, 2:26 PM EST, 34 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 1, 2:28 PM EST, 32 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 1, 2:29 PM EST, 31 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 1, 2:31 PM EST, 29 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

5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Surry

When
April 1, 3:00 PM EST to 7:30 PM EST
Where
Surry forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$60,000
Reported by
911 Call Center
Coordinates
36.415, -80.687 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winds gusts downed numerous trees and several power lines throughout the county. Damage values are estimated.

High Wind, Watauga

When
April 1, 3:50 PM EST to April 2, 4:00 AM EST
Where
Watauga forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$60,000
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
36.231, -81.696 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts blew trees and power lines blown down countywide. 58 MPH wind gusts were measured at the Boone AWOS site and at a mesonet site near Blowing Rock. Damage values are estimated.

High Wind, Ashe

When
April 1, 4:45 PM EST to April 2, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Ashe forecast zone
Measured
66 kt (76 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$60,000
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
36.434, -81.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts across the county reached as high as 76 mph. Wind gusts over 50 mph were common for around a five to six hour period late on April 1 into the early morning hours of April 2. During the event numerous trees and power lines were blown down countywide. Several road were blocked due to the downed trees. The majority of the damage reports were from the Creston area. Damage values are estimated.

High Wind, Alleghany

When
April 1, 4:47 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where
Alleghany forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$60,000
Reported by
911 Call Center
Coordinates
36.491, -81.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts downed trees and power lines throughout the county. Significant damage occurred to a building in downtown Sparta when a roof was blown off the structure. Damage values are estimated.

High Wind, Wilkes

When
April 1, 5:00 PM EST to 8:30 PM EST
Where
Wilkes forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
911 Call Center
Coordinates
36.206, -81.163 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts downed an estimated one hundred sixty trees across the county and numerous power lines. Damage values are estimated.

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 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, April 2023

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: 1093784, 1093788, 1093780, 1093783, 1093794.