Name: Damaging Wind in North Carolina, April 17, 2002
Start: 2002-04-17T13:55
End: 2002-04-17T13:55
Location: North Carolina

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: $1,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 17, 1:51 PM EST, 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 17, 1:51 PM EST, 4 minutes before

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 17, 1:47 PM EST, 8 minutes before

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

HANDEL

Local storm report, Apr 17, 1:47 PM EST, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY 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

HANDEL

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:54 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Rutherford

When: April 17, 1:55 PM EST
Where: Rutherford County, Lake Lure
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.417, -82.200

A few trees were blown down.

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5293169.