GREENVILLE, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The rain, floods and mudslides may have received much of the attention from Hurricane Helene, but there were still powerful winds from the devastating storm across western North Carolina.
A large portion of the North Carolina mountains saw wind gusts of at least 70 mph from Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28, with a few pockets reaching triple-digits, the National Weather Service reported in its wind damage assessment released Wednesday.
102 verified storm-related deaths in North Carolina following Helene: NCDHHS
A meteorologist with the Greenville-Spartanburg office said there was a very sharp increase in winds on the northeast side of Asheville, especially in higher elevations. Southeast-facing slopes across much of the mountains from northeast of Asheville to Avery County sustained the most extreme damage.
The highest measured gust was 106 mph on Mount Mitchell – the highest point in the eastern U.S. A second pocket of extreme wind also occurred in the vicinity of Roan Mountain in Yancey County, mainly above 6,000 feet.