The line of showers and thunderstorms, at 7:15 PM, extends from near Grandfather Mountain southward to Black Mountain, Royal Pines and Hendersonville to Walhalla in South Carolina and back into northeast Georgia. The strongest storms appear to be well south of us but there are indications of gusty winds and heavy rains along the entire line as it moves eastward. McDowell should see this line pass through during the next 30 to 45 minutes, Burke around 8 to 8:30 PM, reaching Hickory and the Stadium in the 8:15 to 8:45 time frame. Again, wind gusts over 30 mph and about fifteen minutes of heavy rain, tapering off to lighter rain for another 30 minutes to an hour is what I foresee at the moment. Im not seeing a lot of lightning with this line and what I have seen has stayed down in Georgia. A pocket of stronger, gusty winds and heavy rain has held together and it now located between Hendersonville and the Asheville airport. This area, if it doesnt weaken, would pose a threat to southern McDowell and Burke and eventually the I-40 corridor between Morganton and Hickory.--Steve.
Posted on: Fri, 09 May 2014 23:22:34 +0000