1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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.
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 24, 1:40 PM EST, 4 hours 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 240 PM EDT THU MAY 24 2001 NEAR TERM... MIDLEVEL WAVE MOVING NORTHEAST ACROSS ALABAMA-GEORGIA BORDER AT 18Z...COULD RESULT IN ENHANCE CLOUDINESS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE NW PIEDMONT EARLY BEFORE SHEARING OUT AND EXITING NORTHWARD. ELSEWHERE...LOW LEVEL DRY AIR SHOULD HOLD IN PLACE TO INHIBIT SHOWERS AND CONFINE THEM TO AREAS WEST OF THE RAH CWA. MIDLEVEL MOISTURE IN EXPECTED TO RESULT IN SCT-BKN ALTO CU OVERNIGHT...RESTRICTING RADIATIONAL COOLING AND KEEP TEMPERATURES IN THE 60-65 DEGREE RANGE WITH LIGHT SOUTHERLY FLOW. FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... MODELS AGAIN SUGGEST THE GULF AND ATLANTIC MOISTURE SOURCE REGIONS ARE NOT MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO SHORT WAVES IN THE CYCLONIC FLOW FROM THE WEST CROSSING CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. MODELS TO AGREE THE COLUMN WILL MOISTEN BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON...WITH THE AXIS OF DEEPER MOISTURE SHIFTING EAST SATURDAY. MODELS ARE MUDDLED IN THEIR DEPICTION OF UPPER DIVERGENCE/LOWER CONVERGENCE AND ANY COUPLING OF THE TWO AND DISAGREE ON THE AMOUNT OF THERMODYNAMICS AVAILABLE FOR DEEP CONVECTION. THEREFORE...WITH CENTRAL NC REMAINING ON THE EDGE OF DEEP CYCLONIC FLOW AND A COLD POOL ALOFT TO THE WEST...THE POTENTIAL FOR DEEP CONVECTION WILL REMAIN IN THE FORECAST FAVORING PERIOD OF MAXIMUM HEATING...LATE DAY TO EVENING HOURS. THE SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS IS NOTED...WITHa PERHAPS THE MAIN THREAT BEING HAIL AS THE WET BULB ZERO LOWERS TO BELOW 10K FEET LATER FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. .RAH...NONE. RFG
The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:31 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A 7-year old boy was struck by lightning under a tree in his backyard. He was taken to the hospital and died three days later.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, May 2001
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: 5243153.