Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 26, 1998

Mutli-cell thunderstorms developed in a hot and humid airmass just ahead of a cold front sagging south across North Carolina during the evening of the 26th. Several storms became severe and produced widespread hail and wind damage. Hail and wind lasted 15-20 minutes at some locations. Numerous trees and power lines were downed, some on homes, and numerous power outages occurred. In Marion, downed trees severely damaged a mobile home. In the town of Catawba, a shed was blown apart and siding taken off a garage. A 5 year old girl was injured in her mobile home when a tree struck it. The southern half of Iredell county and much of Rowan county seemed to be hardest hit with large swaths of damage from winds, at times as high as 70 to 90 mph. Power poles were downed along Interstate 77. Boats and docks were damaged along Lake Norman. A roof was blown off a mobile home and a deck was destroyed in Troutman. Trees were downed on homes and outbuildings near China Grove and in Salisbury, with a damage path of trees and power lines down all the way to High Rock Lake. A car was crushed by a tree and a roof was blown off a supply store north of China Grove. Funnel cloud sightings were common with the passage of the storms in these areas.In the town of Gilkey, in Rutherford county, a storage building was blown into the woods. Four homes were damaged by fallen trees in Union Mills and windows were blown out.