North Carolina, 2001

Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 12, 2001

May 12, 2001 · NWS RAH · 16 events in 12 counties and zones

10 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
16

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Raleigh, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 12, 2:15 PM EST, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 12, 2:15 PM EST, 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
315 PM EDT SAT MAY 12 2001

.SHORT-TERM...SCT SHWRS/TSTMS IN UNSTABLE AIR AHEAD NEAR LEE TROF WIND SHIFT
LINE ARE MVG EASTWARD. POTENTIAL FOR SMALL HAIL. HIGHEST VILS THUS FAR TO 40.
ONLY ONE REPORT OF VERY SMALL HAIL. BEST UNSTABLE AIR IS IN EASTERN CWA EAST OF
RDU. STORMS MAY INTENSIFY THROUGH THE EASTERN CWA. SLIGHT CHC POPS LEFT IN WRN
CWA FOR EARLY THIS EVE AND CHC POPS FOR THE EVE IN ERN CWA.

COOLER AND DRIER AIR BUILDS INTO AREA OVERNIGHT. NW FLOW ALOFT AGAIN DOMINATES
AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE IN OHIO VLY SLOWLY MOVES EASTWARD. TRANQUIL WEATHER
SUN THROUGH MON WITH COOLEST TEMPS EXPECTED EARLY MON MORNING.
1
.LONG-TERM...NEXT CHC OF RAIN IS IN THE EXTENDED FOR TUES WHEN AS ANOTHER
SURFACE COLD FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST.

.RAH...NONE.

KK

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Granville

When
May 12, 2:40 PM EST
Where
Granville County, Butner
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.133, -78.750

Trees blown down.

Hail, Wake

When
May 12, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Wake County, Raleigh Durham Arpt
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
35.867, -78.783

Hail, Wake

When
May 12, 3:25 PM EST
Where
Wake County, Knightdale
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.783, -78.483

Hail, Franklin

When
May 12, 3:45 PM EST
Where
Franklin County, Bunn
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.967, -78.267

Hail, Cumberland

When
May 12, 3:45 PM EST
Where
Cumberland County, Wade
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
35.167, -78.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Johnston

When
May 12, 3:55 PM EST
Where
Johnston County, Smithfield
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.500, -78.350

Trees and powerlines were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Nash

When
May 12, 4:00 PM EST
Where
Nash County, 5 mi N of Nashville
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.033, -77.967

Powerlines and large limbs were blown down.

Hail, Sampson

When
May 12, 4:10 PM EST
Where
Sampson County, Autryville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.000, -78.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Edgecombe

When
May 12, 4:25 PM EST
Where
Edgecombe County, Kingsboro
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.917, -77.667

Trees and power lines blown down near US-64.

Thunderstorm Wind, Johnston

When
May 12, 4:30 PM EST
Where
Johnston County, Smithfield
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
35.500, -78.350

A mobile home was blown over onto its side.

Thunderstorm Wind, Edgecombe

When
May 12, 4:40 PM EST
Where
Edgecombe County, Rocky Mt
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.933, -77.783

A roof of a mobile home near Arlington Street was damaged.

Hail, Wayne

When
May 12, 4:50 PM EST
Where
Wayne County, Nahunta
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.500, -78.067

Hail, Guilford

When
May 12, 5:15 PM EST
Where
Guilford County, Oak Ridge
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
36.183, -79.983

Hail, Chatham

When
May 12, 7:32 PM EST
Where
Chatham County, Moncure
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.617, -79.083

Hail, Harnett

When
May 12, 8:07 PM EST
Where
Harnett County, Dunn
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
35.317, -78.617

Hail, Harnett

When
May 12, 9:15 PM EST
Where
Harnett County, Dunn
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.317, -78.617

What these are

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.
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

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, May 2001

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: 5243030, 5243029, 5243031, 5243032, 5243035, 5243034, 5243033, 5243036, 5243038, 5243037, 5243039, 5243040, 5243041, 5243131, 5243132, 5243133.