Thunderstorm Wind — Swain, North Carolina

2014-07-27 · near Birdtown, Swain, North Carolina

Event narrative

Broadcast media reported a 53-year-old man was extricated from his vehicle then later died from injuries suffered after a tree fell on his vehicle as he was traveling along Old Number 4/Jess Nations Rd. Other trees were reported down in the area as well.

Wider weather episode

Scattered to numerous strong to severe thunderstorms moved into and developed over the North Carolina mountains during the evening ahead of an unusually strong mid-Summer cold front. Many of the storms exhibited characteristics more typical of organized storms seen in the Spring. While wind damage was the primary impact from the storms, a few instances of large hail were observed. One man was killed when a tree fell on his vehicle near Cherokee.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.4600, -83.3600)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 526195. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.