Severe storm winds damage trees on Asheville roadways

Strong thunderstorm winds damaged trees along roadways in southwest downtown Asheville around 7:15 p.m., and the incident was reported to the 911 call center as a severe thunderstorm warning covered much of western Buncombe County. The National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg had already warned that the storm could bring tree and power line damage as it crossed the Asheville area.

The warning went out at 6:55 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30, and stayed in effect until 8:00 p.m. It covered south central Buncombe County, northwestern Henderson County and northeastern Transylvania County, putting Asheville, Biltmore Forest, Bent Creek, Skyland, Avery Creek, Mills River and Asheville Airport in the warning area. The agency said the storm was about 8 miles south of downtown Asheville, near Bent Creek, and moving southwest at 15 mph.

Radar showed maximum wind gusts of 60 mph and quarter-size hail. Forecasters also said minor hail damage to vehicles was possible, but the bigger concern was wind damage to trees and power lines. That risk was especially relevant in the city’s wooded corridors and along busy routes where fallen limbs can quickly block traffic and threaten parked cars, utility service and emergency access.

The warning also included the Blue Ridge Parkway, the North Carolina Arboretum corridor and the route toward East Asheville, areas where storm debris can spread quickly across road shoulders and narrow lanes. Residents were urged to move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building and to report damaging winds, hail or flooding as the storm pushed through the region.