Funnel Cloud, Lenoir
- When
- May 4, 3:42 PM EST
- Where
- Lenoir County, 2 mi NW of Kinston
- Coordinates
- 35.239, -77.641 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Possible funnel cloud Dobbs Rd. near the airport.
Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, May 4 to 5, 1998
A slow moving cold front and a nearly stationary low pressure aloft combined to produce severe weather and heavy rains across east central North Carolina. In terms of flash flooding, the hardest hit areas were western Carteret, southern Craven and Pamlico counties, where widespread poor drainage flooding and deep ponding of water on roads occurred.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 7 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 19
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 MHX wrote it up.
A slow moving cold front and a nearly stationary low pressure aloft combined to produce severe weather and heavy rains across east central North Carolina. In terms of flash flooding, the hardest hit areas were western Carteret, southern Craven and Pamlico counties, where widespread poor drainage flooding and deep ponding of water on roads occurred. Havelock recorded 6.00" of rain, Newport 5.10", and Cherry Point 4.07".
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
8 hail, 3 flash flood, 2 funnel cloud, 2 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Jones
- When
- May 4, 4:04 PM EST
- Where
- Jones County, Hargetts
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Coordinates
- 35.000, -77.650
Brief touchdown at intersection of Highways 41 and 258. No damage.
Funnel Cloud, Duplin
- When
- May 4, 4:05 PM EST
- Where
- Duplin County, 2 mi NW of Chinquapin
- Coordinates
- 34.936, -77.933 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Tornado, Jones
- When
- May 4, 4:22 PM EST
- Where
- Jones County, 1 mi W of Wise Fork
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Coordinates
- 35.220, -77.530
Some tree damage.
Hail, Duplin
- When
- May 4, 4:30 PM EST
- Where
- Duplin County, Fountain
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.830, -77.670
Hail, Onslow
- When
- May 4, 4:47 PM EST
- Where
- Onslow County, 10 mi SW of Jacksonville
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.650, -77.530
Hail, Onslow
- When
- May 4, 4:48 PM EST
- Where
- Onslow County, Jacksonville
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.750, -77.420
Hail, Craven
- When
- May 4, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Craven County, New Bern
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.120, -77.050
Hail, Craven
- When
- May 4, 5:05 PM EST
- Where
- Craven County, New Bern
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 35.120, -77.050
Thunderstorm Wind, Jones
- When
- May 4, 5:13 PM EST
- Where
- Jones County, Maysville
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 34.900, -77.230
Trees down.
Hail, Onslow
- When
- May 4, 5:34 PM EST
- Where
- Onslow County, Sneads Ferry
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.550, -77.400
Thunderstorm Wind, Beaufort
- When
- May 4, 5:45 PM EST
- Where
- Beaufort County, Pamlico Beach
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph)
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 35.400, -76.600
Tree fell on a trailer and house, porch blown off a trailer.
Waterspout, Carteret
- When
- May 4, 5:48 PM EST
- Where
- Carteret County, Salter Path
- Coordinates
- 34.864, -76.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Waterspout off Indian Beach.
Waterspout, Carteret
- When
- May 4, 5:55 PM EST
- Where
- Carteret County, Morehead City
- Coordinates
- 34.864, -76.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Waterspout on Newport River.
Hail, Carteret
- When
- May 4, 7:03 PM EST
- Where
- Carteret County, 5 mi W of Ocean
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.720, -77.070
Hail, Carteret
- When
- May 4, 7:25 PM EST
- Where
- Carteret County, Newport
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 34.780, -76.850
Flash Flood, Carteret
- When
- May 5, 1:00 AM EST to 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Carteret County, Newport
- Coordinates
- 34.864, -76.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Craven
- When
- May 5, 1:00 AM EST to 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Craven County, Havelock
- Coordinates
- 35.117, -77.083 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Pamlico
- When
- May 5, 1:00 AM EST to 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Pamlico County, Arapahoe
- Coordinates
- 35.152, -76.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
- Waterspout
- A tornado over water. One that moves ashore is filed as a tornado from the coastline on.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Flash Flood in Maryland, May 4, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Hail in Virginia, May 4, 1998
- Hail in Virginia, May 4, 1998
- Tornadoes and Hail in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Hail in South Carolina, May 4, 1998
- Hail in North Carolina, May 4, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Georgia, May 4, 1998
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Carolina, 1998Warnings in North Carolina, May 1998
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: 5636177, 5636178, 5636179, 5636180, 5636181, 5636182, 5636183, 5636184, 5636185, 5636186, 5636187, 5636188, 5636189, 5636190, 5636191, 5636192, 5636193, 5636194, 5636195.