Hail, Avery
- When
- September 11, 12:20 PM EST to 12:30 PM EST
- Where
- Avery County, 3 mi S of Banner Elk
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.120, -81.870
Hail in North Carolina, September 11, 1997
Unusually cold temperatures aloft enabled a couple of thunderstorms that developed across the mountains in the early to middle afternoon to become severe. Large hail fell on Sugar Mountain in Avery county and accumulated to a depth of 2 inches.
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
- $1.0 million
- Crop damage
- $8.0 million
- Events
- 3
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 GSP wrote it up.
Unusually cold temperatures aloft enabled a couple of thunderstorms that developed across the mountains in the early to middle afternoon to become severe. Large hail fell on Sugar Mountain in Avery county and accumulated to a depth of 2 inches. Large hail also fell in abundance in Henderson county, covering I-26 for some time near Flat Rock and Hendersonville. Extensive damage occurred to the apple crop which was near it peak. Other field crops were severely damaged or destroyed and a couple of car dealerships sustained damage as well.
The radar
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 138 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:18 UTC.
Event by event
3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Henderson
- When
- September 11, 2:21 PM EST to 2:31 PM EST
- Where
- Henderson County, Hendersonville
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Crop damage
- $4.0 million
- Coordinates
- 35.320, -82.480
Hail, Henderson
- When
- September 11, 2:37 PM EST to 2:47 PM EST
- Where
- Henderson County, 8 mi S of Asheville Airport
- Measured
- 2 in hail
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Crop damage
- $4.0 million
- Coordinates
- 35.320, -82.550
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
- Tornado and Heavy Rain in New Jersey, September 11, 1997
- Hurricane in Guam, September 11 to 12, 1997
- Flash Flood in Idaho, September 11, 1997
- Flash Flood and Flood in Utah, September 11, 1997
- Heavy Rain in New Jersey, September 11, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Florida, September 11, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Texas, September 11 to 23, 1997
- Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, September 11, 1997
- Flash Flood and Hail in Arizona, September 11, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, September 11, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in South Carolina, September 11, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Heavy Rain in New York, September 11, 1997
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, September 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5619183, 5619184, 5619185.