Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in North Carolina, August 19, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in North Carolina, August 19, 2002
Start: 2002-08-19T13:30
End: 2002-08-19T15:20
Location: North Carolina

August 19, 2002 · NWS RAH · 5 events in 3 counties and zones

3 thunderstorm wind, 2 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $85,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 Aug 19, 12:30 PM EST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 19, 12:30 PM EST, 1 hour before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
130 PM EDT MON AUG 19 2002

NOW AND TONIGHT...SCATTERED PULSE TYPE CONVECTION WILL LIKELY
CONTINUE ACROSS CENTRAL NC THROUGH THIS EVENING FOLLOWED BY THINNING
DEBRIS CLOUDINESS OVERNIGHT AND SOME PATCHY FOG TOWARD DAYBREAK.
GUIDANCE/PERSISTENCE AND PREVIOUS FORECASTS OF MIN TEMPERATURES IN
THE 70-74 RANGE ARE EXPECTED. -RFG

TUE: SHOWER/STORM RISK LOOKS LOWER TUE THAN TODAY WITH WARMING ALOFT
& MINIMAL FORCING. WITH BETTER MOISTURE AND A WEAK SHEAR AXIS
SITTING IN THE ERN CWA... WHICH IS ON THE NE SIDE OF A LOW LEVEL
THETA-E RIDGE...EXPECT THIS AREA TO HAVE THE GREATEST COVERAGE. WILL
CUT BACK POPS 10-20% EVERYWHERE & HAVE HIGHEST NUMBERS SOUTH/EAST.
HIGHS IN THE LOW-MID 90S. HEAT INDICES WILL BE NEARING 100 IN THE
EAST & WILL LIKELY ISSUE A BRIEF SPS TO ADDRESS THEM.

WED: AVN/ETA HAVE BEEN TRENDING TOWARD A MORE NORTHERLY FRONTAL
POSITION WITH EACH RUN... IMPLYING A NEED FOR POPS INTO WED. AVN
BACKS UP PRECIP OVER THE WHOLE CWA WED... BUT GIVEN THAT THE
BUILDING RIDGE ALOFT SHOULD STABILIZE THE COLUMN... AM RELUCTANT TO
EXTEND A SIGNIFICANT POP INTO WED PARTICULARLY OVER THE ENTIRE CWA.
PLAN TO BEEF UP CLOUDS AND INTRODUCE ISOLATED SHOWERS/STORMS SOUTH
WHERE GREATEST MOISTURE WILL RESIDE. THICKNESSES SUPPORT HIGHS ABOUT
A CATEGORY BELOW TUESDAYS.

THU-FRI: HIGH PRESSURE SHIFTS OFFSHORE & LEE TROUGH DEVELOPS. UPPER
HEIGHTS FALL A BIT BUT ARE STILL SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO SUPPRESS MOST
CONVECTION. CONTINUED DRY AND WARM.

SAT-MON: GFS IS A BIT FASTER AND NOT AS DEEP WITH DIGGING TROUGH
COMING OUT OF CANADA & ACROSS THE NRN LAKES INTO THE NORTHEAST
SAT/SUN... BUT STILL BRINGS A FRONT SOUTHEAST INTO THE STATE SAT
NIGHT... AS DOES THE ECMWF. CANADIAN KEEPS STRONG UPPER RIDGING
OVERHEAD BUT LOOKS SUSPECT AS IT TRIES TO PHASE THIS TROUGH WITH A
SW LOW. WILL BRING IN A CHANCE OF A SHOWER OR STORM LATE SAT INTO
SUN AS RIDGE BREAKS DOWN. FLOW FLATTENS MON & WILL KEEP IT SIMPLE
WITH DRY WEATHER & SEASONABLE TEMPS.

.RAH...NONE.

GIH/RFG

The radar

The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 75 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:32 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 thunderstorm wind, 2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Cumberland

When: August 19, 1:30 PM EST
Where: Cumberland County, Fayetteville
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.049, -78.827 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning started a fire in a house.

Lightning, Cumberland

When: August 19, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Cumberland County, Wade
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.049, -78.827 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning set fire to a church steeple.

Thunderstorm Wind, Wake

When: August 19, 2:30 PM EST
Where: Wake County, Cary
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.783, -78.800

A roof of a buisness was damaged on Buck Jones Road.

Thunderstorm Wind, Wake

When: August 19, 3:00 PM EST
Where: Wake County, Cary
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.783, -78.800

Several trees were blown down near the intersection of U.S. 1 and U.S. 64.

Thunderstorm Wind, Scotland

When: August 19, 3:20 PM EST
Where: Scotland County, Laurel Hill
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.800, -79.533

Trees and power lines were blown down on the south side of Laurel Hill.

What these are

Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
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

Every storm in North Carolina in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, August 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: 5313741, 5313740, 5313737, 5313738, 5313739.