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Overnight Storm Features High Winds, Forceful Rain and Power Outages Across Much of the High Country

By Jesse Wood

May 22, 2014. Rain pummeled parts of the High Country in the middle of Wednesday night and Thursday morning during a storm that featured thunder and lightning, and the National Weather Service issued a wind advisory through 10 a.m. on Thursday.

According to the CRONOS database with the N.C. Climate Office, the wind peaked at 1 a.m. in the wee hours of Thursday morning when wind gusts reached 85 mph and wind speeds nearly reached 57 mph atop Grandfather Mountain.

RaysWeather.com reported that nearly one-half inch of rain fell on Boone and Beech Mountain. Most of the other areas of Watauga and Avery counties received between one-quarter inch of rain and less than one-half inch of rain.

Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation spokesperson Renee Whitener said that 175 members of BREMCO in Ashe County in eight different locations experienced outages due to the high winds and falling trees and branches. In Watauga County, 11 different locations were damaged, affecting 125 members scattered throughout the county, Whitener said.

“Blue Ridge Electric crews worked throughout the entire night to restore these power outages, which began right before midnight and ended around 7 a.m. today,” Whitener wrote in an email. 

Looking ahead, the weekend weather is shaping up to be beautiful – golfing weather, if that’s your thing. High temperatures will be in the high 60’s and low 70’s with some showers scattered here and there for the five days, according to RaysWeather.com.

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NWS posted this graphic on Twitter with the caption: A tough of low pressure will continue today ahead of a cold front that will slide through the area overnight.