Isolated thunderstorms developed over the North Carolina mountains during the late afternoon and evening. One of the storms produced damaging wind gusts in Buncombe County.
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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.
Isolated thunderstorms developed over the North Carolina mountains during the late afternoon and evening. One of the storms produced damaging wind gusts in Buncombe County.
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 Jun 30, 12:11 PM EST, 6 hours 4 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
111 PM EDT Tue Jun 30 2026
.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
Confidence is increasing that a more typical summer pattern will
return late weekend into early next week with seasonable
temperatures and daily storm chances.
Updated the aviation discussion for the 18Z TAFs.
&&
.KEY MESSAGES...
1. Heat risk will steadily increase through the week, with heat
indices likely exceeding 100 degrees across much of the Piedmont
and foothills, especially by mid to late week. Daily thunderstorms
will also be possible across the mountains.
2. The heat threat begins to wane late weekend and into early
next week with a return to a more traditional mid summer pattern
featuring seasonable temperatures and daily storm chances.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Key message 1: Heat risk will steadily increase through the week,
with heat indices likely exceeding 100 degrees across much of
the Piedmont and foothills, especially by mid to late week. Daily
thunderstorms will also be possible across the mountains.
The synoptic pattern starts off rather amplified today with a deep
trough digging through the Great Basin while an anomalous upper
ridge continues to build over the Tennessee Valley. With time, the
upper ridge will migrate into the Southern Appalachians by late week
through the 4th of July holiday weekend bringing a round of hot
temperatures to the area. 500mb heights and 850mb temperatures will
both be in the 99th percentile for early July, which will support
hot afternoon high temperatures in the upper 90s to low 100s. Even
mountain valleys will be warm with highs in the low to mid 90s.
While temperatures will definitely be hot, the main uncertainty is
whether we will reach heat advisory criteria with heat indices of
105 degrees or greater. Forecast soundings continue to depict a
deeply mixed boundary layer extending to nearly 700mb. This deep
mixing will support aggressive mixing out of dewpoints with surface
dewpoints potentially falling as low as the upper 50s to low 60s.
The lack of a more humid airmass will generally preclude heat index
values reaching advisory criteria. That being said, precautions will
still need to be taken as air temperatures in the low 100s will
still pose a risk of heat related illness.
Additionally, diurnally driven thunderstorms will be possible across
the mountains each afternoon where terrain effects will be
sufficient to overcome an otherwise unfavorable environment for
convective initiation. What storms do develop will have the
potential to become strong to severe owing to moderate to high
instability, steep lapse rates, and modest DCAPE. The main threat
would be for locally damaging winds and small hail.
Key message 2: The heat threat begins to wane late weekend and into
early next week with a return to a more traditional mid summer
pattern featuring seasonable temperatures and daily storm chances.
By Sunday, the upper ridge associated with the holiday heat wave
will have weakened and will be shifting off the Atlantic coast as
weak northern stream flow dips farther south into the Ohio Valley.
As such, afternoon high temperatures will return to the low to mid
90s and more in line with seasonal averages for early July. This
should also keep heat indices in check. In addition, the return of
active northwest flow and moisture return from the Gulf/Atlantic
will support at least scattered to numerous afternoon showers and
storms each day. This will likely be further amplified by several
passing weak shortwave troughs. As with any summer storms, at least
several may become strong to severe with locally damaging winds and
small hail.
&&
.AVIATION /18Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
At KCLT and elsewhere: Mainly VFR conditions will prevail at all
terminals through the TAF period. A few isolated to widely scattered
showers and thunderstorms will be possible across the mountains this
afternoon. As such, will maintain a PROB30 group at KAVL for
associated thunderstorm restrictions. Otherwise, conditions are
expected to remain quiet outside of the mountains. Another round of
mountain valley fog and low stratus is expected tonight.
Restrictions will once again be possible at KAVL through 01/13z.
Winds will generally be light and variable through the period, but
mainly out of the northeast.
Outlook: Diurnal showers and thunderstorms are expected mainly
across the mountains through the workweek. Mountain valley fog/low
stratus will be possible each morning.
&&
.CLIMATE...
RECORDS FOR 07-02
MAX TEMPERATURE MIN TEMPERATURE
STATION HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
KAVL 93 1970 65 1943 70 2018 44 1988
1954
1931
KCLT 101 1931 64 1943 76 1991 56 2008
1970
1931
KGSP 101 1954 66 1943 77 1931 53 1899
RECORDS FOR 07-03
MAX TEMPERATURE MIN TEMPERATURE
STATION HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
KAVL 93 1970 65 1988 70 2018 50 2008
1897 1931 1937
1932
KCLT 99 1931 70 1988 76 1925 56 2010
KGSP 99 2016 70 1988 77 1925 56 1984
1970
1953
RECORDS FOR 07-04
MAX TEMPERATURE MIN TEMPERATURE
STATION HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
KAVL 97 1948 68 1976 70 2016 51 1986
KCLT 99 1993 70 1968 76 1993 55 1933
1955
KGSP 100 1993 70 1988 75 2018 58 2021
1996
1933
&&
.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...None.
NC...None.
SC...None.
&&
TWThe Greer radar (KGSP), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:14 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
County comms and utility company reported trees and power lines blown down, with some outages from the Biltmore area, across Bent Creek, to Lake Julian.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, June 2026
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: 1351476.