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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 17, 1:51 PM EST, 1 hour 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 251 PM EDT WED APR 17 2002 SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA CONTINUE ACROSS WESTERN CAROLINA MOUNTAINS/NC FOOTHILLS. MORE INTENSE STORMS HAVE PRODUCED SEVERE HAIL. MEANWHILE...VERY SLOW MOVEMENT HAS RESULTED IN LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. WILL CARRY CHANCE POPS AREA-WIDE THROUGH THE EVENING...BUT END PRECIP AROUND SUNSET...AS CURRENT ACTIVITY IS LARGELY DRIVEN BY TERRAIN/DIFFERENTIAL HEATING. ACTIVITY IS LIKELY BEING ENHANCED BY A WEAK SW TROUGH RIDING UP OVER THE MID/UPPER LEVEL RIDGE. BUT EXPECT THIS TO BECOME LESS OF A FACTOR WITH TIME...AS IT CONTINUES TO SHEAR OUT. COULD BE A REPEAT PERFORMANCE TOMORROW AFTERNOON...AS ANOTHER SHEARING WAVE APPROACHES THE AREA FROM THE TENNESSEE VALLEY. AT THIS TIME...WILL CARRY CHANCE POPS IN THE MOUNTAINS...LEAVING SILENT 20S EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE. EXPECT ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY AFTERNOON...BUT EXPECT ONLY ISOLATED COVERAGE AT THIS TIME AND WILL LEAVE SILENT 20S ALONE FOR NOW. BETTER CHANCES FOR PRECIP SATURDAY...AS FRONTAL BOUNDARY SAGS SOUTHWARD INTO THE AREA. AVN THEN STALLS THE BOUNDARY THROUGH SUNDAY. WILL SHOTGUN CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE ENTIRE CWA SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. MUCH UNCERTAINTY REMAINS ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF FRONTAL BOUNDARY DAYS 5-7. MRF MORE OR LESS WASHES IT OUT SOUTH OF THE CAROLINAS DURING THIS PERIOD. WILL LEAVE MON-WED DRY AT THIS TIME. FCSTID = 4 GSP 61 85 61 86 / 30 20 20 20 AND 61 85 61 86 / 30 20 20 20 CLT 61 86 61 86 / 30 20 20 20 HKY 58 82 58 82 / 40 20 20 20 AVL 55 80 56 81 / 40 30 20 20 .GSP... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. LANE
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
247 PM EDT WED APR 17 2002
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
233 PM BRINDLETOWN NC 1.75 INCH HAIL
04/17/01 BURKE REPORT FROM FIRE CHIEF
RELAYED BY COUNTY EOC
HANDELPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
247 PM EDT WED APR 17 2002
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
233 PM BRINDLETOWN NC 1.75 INCH HAIL
04/17/02 BURKE REPORT FROM FIRE CHIEF
RELAYED BY COUNTY EOC
HANDELThe Greer radar (KGSP), 64 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:59 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a tree and entered a nearby house, causing a fire. The fire burned a large part of the house.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, April 2002
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: 5293743.