Tropical force winds slam area: Worst event to hit since Ivan
By Justin Caudell
Dangerous and damaging winds ripped through Cashiers Valley on Monday, April 16, for
the first time since Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004. The wind caused numerous downed trees
and power lines to start the week on a bad note for residents.
An upper level disturbance that entered the area on Sunday, April 15, packed winds in
excess of 30 mph sustained, according to Cashiers Weather Service, with gusts as high
as 65 mph - only 5 mph short of a Category One hurricane. The storm also dropped snow
showers, causing white-out conditions late Sunday.
Randy Dillard, chief of the Cashiers-Glenville Volunteer Fire Department, said his crews
started tackling downed trees at 6 p.m. Sunday.
"We began clearing three trees on Hwy. 107 and received about 30 additional calls up
until 2 a.m.," Dillard said. "We also had a lot of false fire alarm calls through daybreak
Monday and people calling when they saw transformers blowing up on the power poles."
Dillard also said a man got trapped on his roof during the storm.
"He went on his roof to check on something, and his ladder fell behind him," Dillard said.
"He was up there about an hour in the wind and snow before the rescue squad was able
to reset his ladder and he was able to climb down."
As of press time, Dillard and his crew had cut 23 trees out of Cashiers' roads.
"Monday's storm was probably a worse event in terms of wind than Ivan, and close to
Hurricane Opal with all the tree damage," Dillard said. "With Ivan, flooding was the major
issue."
Also on Monday, there were reports of seven confirmed houses that had been hit with
trees.
At the highest point of the windstorm, more than 2,000 residents were in the dark, said
Fred Alexander of Duke Energy. As of press time, 1,881 still had no power. The areas
worst hit were south of the Cashiers intersection and in the Norton and Yellow Mountain
communities. Businesses throughout Ingles plaza also lost power.
"The 66 KV transmission line, serving more than 2,600 customers in the Southern
Jackson area, was hit, and crews had to work to repair the line," Alexander said.
On Monday afternoon, there were 10 broken power poles and more than 40 strands of
lines down, Alexander said.
"But there could be more," he said. "Workers are describing this event as a small
hurricane, and they have yet to reach every road to survey all the damage."
Duke Energy hoped to have the power restored by midnight Tuesday, "but we are still in
the middle of the storm, and safety is our foremost priority," Alexander said on Monday.
"An employee hurt today can't help with the problem tomorrow."
Cashiers Weather Service reported that high winds carried over to Tuesday morning but
died down by afternoon.
Monday saw the second storm in two weeks of a so-far-unseasonable spring. After a
mundane winter, a cold snap first impacted Cashiers over Easter weekend. The
uncommon windstorm to start the week comes just one month before the 2007 hurricane
season, which early scientists are predicting to be active.
"But we can never be sure until the time comes," said Josh Matthews, of the National
Climatic Center.
"Mother Nature is at a point right now where she is brewing snow storms throughout the
nation in the height of spring, and in Cashiers' case, even starting tropical force winds
early," Matthews said. "I am not sure if she knows what weather lies ahead."
North Carolina Electric Cooperatives reported early Tuesday that an estimated 31,500
people were still without power in Western North Carolina, with some towns possibly not
having power restored until midweek.