Gaston

... Record daily maximum rainfall set at Greenville-Spartanburg SC...

A record rainfall of 1.93 inches fell at Greenville-Spartanburg SC
on Tuesday. This breaks the old daily rainfall record for the date
of 1.76 inches set in 1988. Climatological data is maintained for
Greenville-Spartanburg going back to 1884.

... Tornado confirmed in the Big Creek area of the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park in Haywood County North Carolina...

Location... Big Creek area... Great Smoky Mountains (haywood county)
date... June 13 2013
estimated time... 410 PM EDT
maximum ef-scale rating... EF1
estimated maximum wind speed... 100 mph
maximum path width... 100 yards
path length... to be determined
beginning lat/Lon... to be determined
ending lat/Lon... 35.73 N/83.14 W
* fatalities... 0
* injuries... 0

* the information in this statement is preliminary and subject to
change pending final review of the event(s) and publication in
NWS storm data.

... Summary...
the National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg SC has
confirmed a tornado in the Big Creek area of the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park in Haywood County North Carolina on June
13 2013.

A survey team that included representatives from the National
Weather Service and the unc-Asheville atmospheric sciences
department investigated a reported damage area in the Big Creek
region of the Great Smoky Mountains today. The survey team found
an area of extensive tree damage about 3.5 miles up the Deep Creek
trail from its terminus at Deep Creek Campground. This appeared to
be the end of a damage path. Hundreds of small trees were snapped
10 to 20 feet above the ground... and dozens of large trees
uprooted along a one-half mile section of the trail. The damage
path more or less paralleled Deep Creek... suggesting the flow was
channeled down the valley... with all the damage being blown toward
the north or northwest. Considering a parent storm motion from the
northwest... the damage pattern was highly convergent... while the
damage path was very concentrated across a width of about 100
yards. These factors were clearly indicative of a tornado. The
survey team viewed a damage path that extended up to a ridge top
above /Low Gap/... and discussions with a trail maintenance crew
indicated that the damage path extended west/northwest to at least
the Tennessee line. However... downed trees and the rugged terrain
made a complete survey impossible. The survey team hopes to use
high resolution satellite data to precisely mark the beginning and
ending locations of this tornado in the days ahead.

This information can also be found on our website at
weather.Gov/gsp.

For reference... the Enhanced Fujita scale classifies tornadoes
into the following categories:

EF0... wind speeds 65 to 85 mph.
EF1... wind speeds 86 to 110 mph.
EF2... wind speeds 111 to 135 mph.
EF3... wind speeds 136 to 165 mph.
EF4... wind speeds 166 to 200 mph.
EF5... wind speeds greater than 200 mph.