North Carolina, 2002

Hail and Lightning Strike in North Carolina, April 17, 2002

April 17, 2002 · NWS RNK · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Lightning struck a tree 1 miles southeast of Sandy Ridge. The lightning then jumped from the tree to an outhouse where a man was standing, striking him.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
1
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 RNK wrote it up.

Thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening of the 17th produced hail up to nickel size and dangerous lightning.Hail in Roaring Gap accumulated up to 6 inches.Lightning struck a tree 1 miles southeast of Sandy Ridge. The lightning then jumped from the tree to an outhouse where a man was standing, striking him. He was taken to the hospital.

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 17, 11:25 AM EST, 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 17, 11:25 AM EST, 35 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
1225 PM EDT WED APR 17 2002

WILL UPDATE SHORTLY TO ADD A SLIGHT CHNACE FOR SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS IN THE FOOTHILL COUNTIES.

FCST HIGHLIGHTS...
NEAR RECORD HIGHS TODAY.

LATEST DSCN:
CLUSTER OF SHOWERS WITH SOME THUNDERSTORMS MOVING BY JUST TO THE
NORTHWEST MY WEST VIRGINIA COUNTIES. EXPECT MORE SHOWER AND
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON...WITH THE BEST CHANCES IN
MY FAR WESTERN COUNTIES. IN MOST OF MY CWA...BASED ON MODEL FORECAST
OF 850 MB TEMPERATURES AND LOW LEVEL THICKNESS...WOULD THINK THAT
HIGHS TODAY WOULD FALL A LITTLE SHORT OF THOSE REACHED YESTERDAY AND
THOSE IN THE CURRENT FORECAST FOR TODAY. HOWEVER...WITH TEMPERATURES
A FEW TO SEVERAL DEGREES HIGHER THAN THOSE FROM 24 HOURS AGO..PLAN
TO LEAVE THE FORECAST AS IS FOR NOW. NO MORNING UPDATE PLANNED.

03/MTE

EARLY AM DSCN...
HIGH AMPLITUDE RIDGE OVER THE ERN CONUS WILL BLOCK APPROACH OF ANY
SIGNIFICANT UPPER LEVEL ENERGY TODAY.  AS A RESULT...LOWERED POPS TO
NO MORE THAN 30 IN THE WEST AND RAISED TEMPS.  LL THICKNESSES
SUPPORT READINGS NEAR TUESDAYS TMAX AND I WENT FAIRLY CLOSE TO
THESE NUMBERS...MAYBE A DEGREE OR TWO LOWER PER INCREASE OF UPPER
LEVEL MOISTURE AND RESULTANT CLOUD COVER.

MODELS PROG UPPER LEVEL ENERGY TO PENETRATE RIDGE TONIGHT AND
THURSDAY...POPS NOT ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE...MOS SHOWING 20-30.  ANY
CONVECTION THAT DOES FORM WILL BE SLOW MOVING...FCST 0-6KM MEAN WIND
LESS THAN 10 KTS. CLOUDS THURSDAY WILL INHIBIT FULL INSOLATION SO
STAYED PRETTY CLOSE TO MOS FOR MAX TEMPS.

NO SIGNIFICANT AIRMASS CHANGE IS ANTICIPATED UNTIL THE WEEKEND.
FRIDAY LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER VERY WARM DAY WITH TMAX IN THE 80S...THEN
CLOUDS ROLL IN AHEAD OF A FRONT ON SATURDAY WITH THE THREAT OF
SHRA/TSRA AND COOLER TEMPS FOR SATURDAY THRU MONDAY.  THE AVN
SOLUTION IS TO STALL FRONT JUST SOUTH OF THE FCST AREA SUNDAY WITH
WAVES OF LOW PRESSURE AND THREAT OF SHRA FOR BOTH SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

RECORD HIGHS TODAY:

RNK 82/1976
ROA 91/1976
LYH 92/1896
BLF 83/1976

FCSTID = 11
ROA   89  60  82  58 /   0  20  20  10
LYH   90  59  82  58 /   0  20  20  10
DAN   92  61  84  60 /   0  20  30  10
BLF   80  56  76  55 /  30  30  20  10
LWB   79  56  76  55 /  30  30  20  10
BCB   84  56  79  56 /  20  20  20  10
TNB   79  55  77  55 /  30  30  20  10

.RNK...
NC...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 17, 11:49 AM EST, 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1249 PM EDT WED APR 17 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1245 PM    ROARING GAP               NC   0.88 INCH HAIL
04/17/02   ALLEGHANY NC                   REPORTED BY COOP
                                          OBSERVER.

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 94 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Alleghany

When
April 17, 12:00 PM EST
Where
Alleghany County, Roaring Gap
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.400, -80.983

Lightning, Stokes

When
April 17, 1:00 PM EST
Where
Stokes County, 1 mi SE of Sandy Ridge
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
36.402, -80.240 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Wilkes

When
April 17, 1:25 PM EST
Where
Wilkes County, Hays
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.250, -81.117

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, April 2002

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: 5292312, 5292314, 5292313.