MADISON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — On Thursday, July 30, the National Weather Service is expected to determine if western North Carolina saw a confirmed tornado during Tuesday’s severe weather.
Severe weather swept across Asheville and much of western North Carolina on Tuesday, prompting a series of tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings.
A funnel cloud, a "rotating column of air" from the base of a storm cloud, was seen in Highlands, N.C. For a funnel cloud to become a tornado, it must make contact with the ground, according to the NWS.
Meteorologists with the NWS spent part of Wednesday on the ground, surveying some of the damage.
Wednesday’s survey team started near Marshall, making its way across NC 212, then headed down Interstate 26 to Mars Hill.
“Kind of made our way back toward Marshall a little bit, but then we made our way to Weaverville,” said NWS meteorologist Clay Chaney, adding that a big part of their focus was on Madison County.
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“That’s where the initial tornado warning was and it was actually confirmed on the other side of the state border in Tennessee,” Chaney said.
Once they’ve collected enough data, meteorologists will bring information to their location near Greenville and use additional tools and technology to analyze it.
So, what goes into making that type of determination? Chaney says it’s all about looking for the right ingredients.
“Does it have enough instability, does it have enough wind shear, and does it have the lift that we need to form these?” Chaney asked.
But Chaney added that even those elements can be trickier to analyze here in the mountains.
“It’s definitely a lot harder to see, especially with the different slopes and the elevation changes and topography and such,” Chaney explained.
As for a debris path left behind, NWS pointed out that often, when it comes to a hurricane, you’ll have a much clearer and more consistent pathway of destruction, with debris that might be laid out more consistently.
When it comes to a tornado or the damage that we would see after a tornado, you’re going to have a lot more crisscross-type activity where you have divergent pieces of debris all over the place.
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Either way, Tuesday’s weather acts as a reminder to be ready for next time.
“You want to make sure that you have multiple ways to get warnings, so your severe thunderstorm, tornado warnings,” Chaney said.
It’s also a good idea to have a NOAA weather radio on hand.
“If the power does go out, the radio’s still working. It gives you important weather information," Chaney said.
As for sheltering in your home, get to your basement. If you don’t have one, head to the most interior part of your home on the lowest floor.
“That’s where the walls around you are the strongest and are least likely to become damaged," Chaney said.