Yesterday morning, we highlighted the potential for damaging thunderstorms across the Foothills, and unfortunately, the atmosphere delivered.
By around 2:15 PM, thunderstorms began developing over the mountains ahead of a mid-level disturbance moving east across western North Carolina. Initially, these were individual cells, but they quickly intensified as they encountered an increasingly unstable atmosphere.
Around 2:50 PM, thunderstorms began merging near Dobsons Knob in western Burke County. These cell mergers allowed the storms to organize much more efficiently, increasing both their size and strength.
By 3:18 PM, the storms had evolved into a well-defined line that began to bow outward as it moved east-southeast across Burke County and Southern Caldwell. This bowing segment was a clear indication that strong winds were developing within the storm, pushing it into severe limits. Shortly afterward, the National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Burke, McDowell, Caldwell, and Cleveland Counties.
At approximately 3:25 PM, the most significant damage began. A swath of damaging straight-line winds carved a path across north-central Burke, South-Central Caldwell, Southeastern Caldwell, and northeastern Burke Counties. Numerous trees and power lines were brought down, and several weaker outdoor structures sustained damage.
Based on the damage pattern, winds likely reached around 65 mph from Drexel east toward Lake Rhodhiss. As the storm approached the Rhodhiss area, the damage became more concentrated, suggesting a microburst developed. Wind speeds in this area were likely close to 70 mph, making this one of the strongest portions of the storm.
After crossing into the Longview area, the storm weakened briefly before reorganizing once again. Another corridor of damaging straight-line winds developed from Saint Stephens through the Lake Hickory community, Bunker Hill, and Catfish. Winds within this second damage path were again estimated to have reached around 65 mph, resulting in additional downed trees and power outages.
While the damage was significant in some communities, there is one piece of good news: there were no reported injuries. Utility crews have been working throughout the evening to restore power across the affected areas, with many customers expected to have electricity back just as our next weather story begins—a prolonged stretch of dangerous heat and humidity arriving this week.
Today’s storms were an excellent reminder that summertime thunderstorms can intensify very quickly across the Foothills, especially when storms merge and organize into bowing segments capable of producing damaging straight-line winds and localized microbursts.
As always, thank you for trusting and following Foothills Weather Network. Your reports, photos, and videos help us better understand these storms and provide more accurate information to our communities. Stay safe, and we’ll be watching the developing heat wave together this week.
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