Hail, Columbus
- When
- August 5, 1:35 PM EST
- Where
- Columbus County, Tabor City
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.150, -78.880
Reported by public
Hail in North Carolina, August 5, 1997
During the afternoon of 8/5/97 a line of thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front and moved rapidly east across portions of Columbus, Bladen, Brunswick and Pender Counties of Southeast North Carolina. Numerous reports of downed trees and power lines were received.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS ILM wrote it up.
During the afternoon of 8/5/97 a line of thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front and moved rapidly east across portions of Columbus, Bladen, Brunswick and Pender Counties of Southeast North Carolina. Numerous reports of downed trees and power lines were received. Hail reports ranged from 3/4 of an inch at several locations to 1 3/4 inch at Ocean Isle Beach in Brunswick Co. and also 5 NW of Burgaw, in Pender Co. The largest report of hail was 2 1/2 inches at Nakina, in Columbus Co. Most of the damage from these storms was along a swath about 5 miles wide and 20 miles long, which extended from southwest of Penderlea to about 5 miles east of Watha, in Pender Co. The Four County Electric Coop reported approximately $30,000 in damages. The combination of wind gust to 80 mph and the large hail caused an estimated $2.8 million in crop damages, $490,000 in damages to structures and $250,000 in damage to timber.
The radar
The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 45 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:32 UTC.
Event by event
4 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Columbus
- When
- August 5, 2:00 PM EST to 2:05 PM EST
- Where
- Columbus County, Nakina
- Measured
- 2.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.130, -78.670
Reported by Nakina Fire Department
Hail, Brunswick
- When
- August 5, 2:15 PM EST to 2:18 PM EST
- Where
- Brunswick County, Calabash
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.880, -78.570
Hail, Brunswick
- When
- August 5, 2:40 PM EST to 2:43 PM EST
- Where
- Brunswick County, Shallotte
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 33.970, -78.400
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Rip Current in California, August 5 to 7, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, August 5, 1997
- Wildfire in California, August 5 to 12, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, August 5, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, August 5, 1997
- Flash Flood in Colorado, August 5, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, August 5, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, August 5 to 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, August 5, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, August 5, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, August 5, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, August 5, 1997
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, August 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5614628, 5614629, 5614630, 5614631.