Lightning, Rowan
- When
- July 22, 2:30 PM EST
- Where
- Rowan County, China Grove
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 35.640, -80.525 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A large tree was struck by lightning.
Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 22, 2002
1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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 Jul 22, 1:18 PM EST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 22, 1:18 PM EST, 1 hour 12 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 218 PM EDT MON JUL 22 2002 COLD FRONT APPROACHING FROM NORTHWEST TUE NIGHT PROGGED TO HANG UP IN NC MTS FOR SEVERAL DAYS THEN FIZZLING BY SATURDAY. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASES TUE AND WED COINCIDING WITH APPROACHING FRONT...PERSISTING THRU SATURDAY. VORTICITY INCREASES TUE...THEN A STRONG VORT MAX OVER CWA BY WED EVE. MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT FOR SCATTERED SHWRS AND STORMS EVERY AFTN AND EVE THRU SAT. SILENT 20S FOR SUN AND MON WITH ONLY MARGINAL INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE. SLIGHT WARMING TREND THROUGH THE WEEK DUE TO DECREASING CLOUD COVER AS FRONT DISSIPATES. LOWER 90S MOST PIEDMONT AND FOOTHILL LOCATIONS BY END OF THE WEEK. FCSTID = GSP 71 90 72 87 / 40 50 50 50 AND 71 90 72 87 / 40 50 50 50 CLT 70 90 72 88 / 50 50 50 50 HKY 69 87 70 86 / 50 50 50 50 AVL 64 84 67 83 / 40 50 40 50 .GSP... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. LAMB/DICARLO
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 22, 10:10 AM EST, 4 hours 20 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-222100- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1110 AM EDT MON JUL 22 2002 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... WARM MOIST AIR OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PERSIST INTO THE EVENING. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS TO BECOME SEVERE... PRODUCING DAMAGING WIND. LARGE HAIL IS POSSIBLE...BUT TO A LESSER EXTENT. THE GREATEST CHANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR THE LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION. RWH
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 156 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:29 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- 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
- Heat in Maryland, July 22 to 23, 2002
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, July 22, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Florida, July 22, 2002
- Lightning Strike in South Carolina, July 22, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, July 22, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 22, 2002
- Damaging Winds in New York, July 22, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, July 22, 2002
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in North Carolina, July 22, 2002
- Flash Flood in Colorado, July 22, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, July 22, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Missouri, July 22, 2002
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, July 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: 5309540.