Thunderstorm Wind — Alleghany, North Carolina

2021-08-17 · near Cherry Lane, Alleghany, North Carolina

Event narrative

Thunderstorm winds blew down a couple of trees on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Wider weather episode

Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred moved north from the Gulf Coast states into the Central Appalachians. Strong low level shear and abundant tropical moisture sparked low topped, rotating thunderstorms which helped spawn two brief EF-0 tornados in Wilkes County. Non-rotating damaging thunderstorm winds also occurred in portions of northwest North Carolina during the afternoon of the 17th and again during the late evening of the 17th into the early morning hours of the 18th. These multiple rounds of thunderstorms

led to at least 9,000 residents losing power in northwest North Carolina. In addition, a south to southeast flow of high tropical moisture allowed for several inches of rain to fall over portions of our area, with the highest amounts in the NC mountains.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.4322, -81.0405)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 980807. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.