North Carolina, 1998

Tornadoes and Hail in North Carolina, May 7, 1998

May 7, 1998 · NWS GSP · 46 events in 17 counties and zones

Supercell thunderstorms developed in a highly sheared atmosphere in eastern Tennessee then moved east across the mountains, foothills and western piedmont of North Carolina. These long-lived, cyclic supercells produced a considerable amount of large hail and some damaging winds in the mountains.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
3
Property damage
$3.8 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
46

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.

Supercell thunderstorms developed in a highly sheared atmosphere in eastern Tennessee then moved east across the mountains, foothills and western piedmont of North Carolina. These long-lived, cyclic supercells produced a considerable amount of large hail and some damaging winds in the mountains. The first tornado of the day in western North Carolina occurred in Madison county. Numerous reports of hail as large as golf balls were reported from the mountains. In Madison and Yancey counties, hail covered roads. More supercell thunderstorms developed behind the previous ones and followed similar tracks. In northern Buncombe county, the town of Barnardsville had three separate severe storms cross overhead and drop hail on the ground to a depth of 3 inches. Yancey county also had 3 separate storms move across the county that accumulated hail to 6 inches in depth. The hail was still on the ground the next morning. As the supercells moved into the foothills, they began to curve a little to the right, indicative of strong mesocyclonic circulations present. One supercell produced several tornadoes from Alexander county to Davie county. Another storm produced a tornado that tracked from western Caldwell county into south-central Alexander county. A third supercell that emerged out of the mountains in McDowell county produced several tornadoes from the southern part of that county to northern Mecklenburg county. Damage was fairly significant across western North Carolina with numerous homes either damaged or destroyed. Fortunately, no one was killed. However, 2 people were injured as a result of the violent F4 tornado in eastern Caldwell county. One person received minor injuries from a lightning strike in Yancey county later in the evening.The storms continued to reform in eastern Tennessee until very late in the evening and still produced large hail as they crossed the border into the mountain counties of North Carolina, before weakening shortly after midnight..

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

31 hail, 11 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Madison

When
May 7, 2:58 PM EST
Where
Madison County, Big Laurel
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.930, -82.680

Hail, Avery

When
May 7, 3:03 PM EST
Where
Avery County, 4 mi SW of Newland
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
36.050, -81.980

Hail, Madison

When
May 7, 3:25 PM EST
Where
Madison County, 13 mi NE of Marshall
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.930, -82.520

Hail, Madison

When
May 7, 3:25 PM EST
Where
Madison County, Big Laurel
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
35.930, -82.680

Hail, Yancey

When
May 7, 3:27 PM EST
Where
Yancey County, Burnsville
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.920, -82.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Yancey

When
May 7, 3:35 PM EST
Where
Yancey County, Burnsville
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
35.920, -82.300

Tornado, Madison

When
May 7, 3:35 PM EST to 3:37 PM EST
Where
Madison County, Spring Creek
Rating
F1
Path length
1.3 mi
Path width
50 yd
Coordinates
35.800, -82.850

A tornado pulled a roof partly off a house and damaged three other houses. Debris from the houses was found about a half mile away on another ridge. Numerous trees were blown down through 4:37 pm EDT.

Hail, Madison

When
May 7, 3:35 PM EST
Where
Madison County, Spring Creek
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.800, -82.850

Thunderstorm Wind, Avery

When
May 7, 3:50 PM EST
Where
Avery County, 3 mi NE of Linville
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
36.120, -81.830

Hail, Avery

When
May 7, 3:50 PM EST
Where
Avery County, 3 mi NE of Linville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
36.120, -81.830

Hail, Madison

When
May 7, 3:50 PM EST
Where
Madison County, Marshall
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.800, -82.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Alexander

When
May 7, 3:55 PM EST
Where
Alexander County, Hiddenite
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates
35.900, -81.080

Hail, Madison

When
May 7, 4:08 PM EST
Where
Madison County, 5 mi S of Marshall
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
35.730, -82.680

Tornado, Alexander

When
May 7, 4:15 PM EST to 4:25 PM EST
Where
Alexander County, Hiddenite to 2 mi E of Smiths Store
Rating
F0
Path length
5 mi
Path width
300 yd
Property damage
$425,000
Coordinates
35.930, -81.080

A weak tornado travelled for 5 miles on the ground in eastern Alexander county before crossing into Iredell county. Damage was mainly confined to trees and outbuildings.

Hail, Buncombe

When
May 7, 4:15 PM EST
Where
Buncombe County, Barnardsville
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.780, -82.470

Hail, Graham

When
May 7, 4:25 PM EST
Where
Graham County, Robbinsville
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
35.330, -83.820

Tornado, Iredell

When
May 7, 4:25 PM EST to 4:31 PM EST
Where
Iredell County, Love Valley to 4 mi SSE of Love Valley
Rating
F1
Path length
3 mi
Path width
1,320 yd
Property damage
$100,000
Coordinates
35.920, -80.980

A fairly wide, but weak tornado crossed the border from Alexander county and travelled east to NC Highway 115. Trees, poultry houses, and various other structures sustained damage.

Tornado, Caldwell

When
May 7, 4:49 PM EST to 5:03 PM EST
Where
Caldwell County, Dudley Shoals
Rating
F4
Path length
4 mi
Path width
1,320 yd
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$1.1 million
Coordinates
35.870, -81.380

A violent, F4 tornado touched down near Dudley Shoals then moved east-southeast cutting a winding path through valleys, to the Alexander county border. The damage path was 100 yards wide on average, but reached a width of 3/4 of a mile at times. One well-constructed home was totally destroyed, other homes were damaged, and many mobile homes sustained damage or were destroyed.

Tornado, Iredell

When
May 7, 4:50 PM EST to 4:55 PM EST
Where
Iredell County, Harmony to 2 mi E of Harmony
Rating
F1
Path length
3 mi
Path width
440 yd
Property damage
$1.0 million
Coordinates
35.980, -80.770

An F1 tornado cut a path from just north of Harmony to near the Davie county line, but caused substantial damage. Forty-six houses and 6 poultry houses were damaged with one poultry house destroyed. Several barns were damaged as well and numerous trees were downed.

Tornado, McDowell

When
May 7, 4:55 PM EST to 5:03 PM EST
Where
McDowell County, Glenwood
Rating
F2
Path length
3.7 mi
Path width
880 yd
Property damage
$482,000
Coordinates
35.620, -81.980

Another supercell which tracked across the mountains spawned a tornado that travelled through a portion of Glenwood. Several homes and mobiles sustained damage or were destroyed.

Tornado, Alexander

When
May 7, 5:03 PM EST to 5:17 PM EST
Where
Alexander County, Bethlehem to 2 mi of Millersville
Rating
F1
Path length
10 mi
Path width
200 yd
Property damage
$450,000
Coordinates
35.850, -81.350

A tornado continued its track from Caldwell county through the southern part of Alexander county, before dissipating near Millersville. Homes in the tornado's path were damaged and mobile homes were either damaged or destroyed.

Hail, Burke

When
May 7, 5:10 PM EST
Where
Burke County, 10 mi SW of Morganton
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
35.650, -81.830

Hail, Alexander

When
May 7, 5:13 PM EST
Where
Alexander County, Bethlehem
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.830, -81.320

Tornado, Davie

When
May 7, 5:15 PM EST to 5:21 PM EST
Where
Davie County, Farmington to 1 mi E of Farmington
Rating
F0
Path length
5 mi
Path width
100 yd
Coordinates
36.020, -80.520

The same supercell thunderstorm that produced a tornado in northern Iredell county spawned another tornado, this time a little weaker, in eastern Davie county. The tornado damaged trees and outbuildings before lifting about one mile from the border with Forsyth county.

Hail, Burke

When
May 7, 5:17 PM EST
Where
Burke County, Morganton
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
35.750, -81.700

Hail, Burke

When
May 7, 5:30 PM EST to 5:37 PM EST
Where
Burke County, 10 mi W of Morganton
Measured
1.5 in hail
Coordinates
35.750, -81.880

Hail, Alexander

When
May 7, 5:37 PM EST
Where
Alexander County, Taylorsville
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
35.930, -81.170

Hail, Burke

When
May 7, 5:45 PM EST
Where
Burke County, 10 mi W of Morganton
Measured
1.5 in hail
Coordinates
35.750, -81.880

Tornado, Lincoln

When
May 7, 5:49 PM EST to 5:53 PM EST
Where
Lincoln County, Vale to 1 mi N of Vale
Rating
F2
Path length
2 mi
Path width
440 yd
Property damage
$212,000
Coordinates
35.550, -81.420

The same supercell that produced the tornado in McDowell county spawned a strong tornado in the Vale and Cat Square area. Four homes were destroyed, 50 homes were damaged, a church roof was partially blown off and numerous trees were downed.

Hail, Catawba

When
May 7, 5:50 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Catawba County, Plateau to 3 mi of Maiden
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.570, -81.400

A swath of golf ball size hail fell in southern Caldwell county, just to the north of the tornado track in northern Lincoln county.

Hail, Buncombe

When
May 7, 5:50 PM EST
Where
Buncombe County, Barnardsville
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.780, -82.470

Tornado, Lincoln

When
May 7, 6:25 PM EST to 6:45 PM EST
Where
Lincoln County, Denver
Rating
F0
Path length
5 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
35.530, -81.030

A weak tornado developed once again from the same supercell that produced the tornado earlier near Vale. The tornado tracked east-southeast from Denver and became a waterspout as it crossed Lake Norman and moved into Mecklenburg county. Trees and power lines were downed with some falling on homes.

Hail, Rowan

When
May 7, 6:36 PM EST
Where
Rowan County, Woodleaf
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.770, -80.600

Hail, Buncombe

When
May 7, 6:45 PM EST
Where
Buncombe County, Barnardsville
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.780, -82.470

Tornado, Mecklenburg

When
May 7, 6:45 PM EST to 6:58 PM EST
Where
Mecklenburg County, Cornelius to 6 mi of Cornelius
Rating
F0
Path length
6 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$50,000
Coordinates
35.520, -80.970

A waterspout/tornado crossed Lake Norman from Lincoln county and moved through Cornelius. The roof of a grocery store was damaged and debris from the store damaged cars and other buildings across the street at a dealership.

Hail, Iredell

When
May 7, 6:53 PM EST
Where
Iredell County, Mooresville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.580, -80.820

Hail, Rowan

When
May 7, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Rowan County, 10 mi W of Kannapolis
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.500, -80.820

Hail, Cabarrus

When
May 7, 7:04 PM EST
Where
Cabarrus County, 10 mi W of Kannapolis
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.500, -80.820

Hail, Rowan

When
May 7, 7:10 PM EST
Where
Rowan County, Kannapolis
Measured
4.5 in hail
Coordinates
35.500, -80.630

Softball size hail, very unusual in the Southeast, fell through a roof of at least one home in Kannapolis and damaged numerous vehicles. A damage estimate was not available at the time of this writing.

Hail, Cabarrus

When
May 7, 7:10 PM EST
Where
Cabarrus County, 5 mi NW of Concord
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.470, -80.670

Lightning, Yancey

When
May 7, 7:15 PM EST
Where
Yancey County, Newdale
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
35.899, -82.308 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Rowan

When
May 7, 7:15 PM EST
Where
Rowan County, 1 mi N of Kannapolis
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
35.520, -80.630

Hail, Yancey

When
May 7, 9:15 PM EST
Where
Yancey County, Burnsville
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
35.920, -82.300

Hail, Avery

When
May 7, 9:37 PM EST
Where
Avery County, 2 mi SW of Ingalls
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
35.950, -82.050

Hail, Avery

When
May 7, 9:52 PM EST
Where
Avery County, 2 mi SE of Crossnore
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
36.000, -81.900

Hail, Henderson

When
May 7, 11:55 PM EST
Where
Henderson County, 2 mi E of Asheville Rgnl Arpt
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
35.430, -82.500

What these are

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.
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.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

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: 5646310, 5646311, 5646312, 5646313, 5646315, 5646314, 5646432, 5646433, 5646434, 5646435, 5646436, 5646437, 5646438, 5646439, 5646440, 5646441, 5646442, 5646443, 5646444, 5646445, 5646446, 5646447, 5646448, 5646449, 5646450, 5646540, 5646541, 5646542, 5646543, 5646544, 5646545, 5646546, 5646547, 5646548, 5646549, 5646550, 5646551, 5646552, 5646553, 5646554, and more.