Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 4, 2002

Name: Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 4, 2002
Start: 2002-07-04T18:30
End: 2002-07-04T18:30
Location: North Carolina

July 4, 2002 · NWS GSP · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $50,000
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 Jul 4, 1:30 PM EST, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 1:30 PM EST, 5 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
230 PM EDT THU JUL 4 2002

DEEP RIDGE CONTINUES TO THE N OF THE CWFA. A NE-SW ORIENTED COLD
TROF...UNDER THE RIDGE...REMAINS SITUATED OVER THE CWFA. THE UPPER
TROF HAS MOVED JUST A LITTLE BIT FARTHER TO THE SOUTH. THIS HAS
PLACED THE AXIS OF THE BEST SURFACE CONVERGENCE...AND SFC MOISTURE
FLUX DIV...A LITTLE FARTHER S TDA AS WELL. WHILE FOR THE PAST THREE
DAYS THIS AXIS WAS CENTERED OVER THE MTNS...TDA IT RUNS FROM GSO TO
GLT TO GRD.

ATMOSPHERE CONTINUES TO BE VERY UNSTABLE. THE LATEST GOES SOUNDER
DATA SHOWS THAT LI/S ARE RUNNING -7 TO -8 OVER THE ERN HALF OF THE
CWA...W/MICROBURST POTENTIAL RUNNING BETWEEN 50 AND 60 KTS.

WOULD EXPECT THAT CONVECTION WOULD BE MOST NUMEROUS OVER THE ERN CWA
THIS EVENING. HOWEVER...WL MAKE FINAL POP DECISION SHORTLY BEFORE
ZONES GO OUT.

ETA INDICATES THAT H5 TEMPS WARM QUITE A BIT BY FRI AFTN. FOR MOST
OF THE DAY...THE BEST SFC CONVERGENCE WL BE EVEN FARTHER S THAN TDA.
HOWEVER...AFTER ABOUT 21Z...PRESSURES FALL OVER THE ERN CWA W/BEST
SFC CONVERGENCE SETTING UP OVER THE I-85 CORRIDOR AGAIN AHEAD OF
APPROACHING BACK DOOR FRONT. THUS...CONVECTION SHOULD GET OFF TO A
LATER START TMRW...BUT THERE SHOULD BE SCT TSRA ACROSS MOST OF THE
CWFA BY LATE AFTN.

WL KEEP POPS IN THE UPSTATE SAT...BUT REMOVE THEM FROM THE REST OF
THE CWA AS SFC FRONT WL BE THROUGH MOST OF THE REGION.

EXTENDED FEATURES UPPER TROUGH OVER EASTERN USA. SURFACE RIDGE
EXITING E COAST MON/TUE. COLD FRONT MOVES S INTO AREA WED...THEN S
OF AREA THU...WHERE IT STALLS. HAVE CHANCE DIURNAL CONVECTION
MON/TUE...THEN RUN POPS THROUGH WED NIGHT WITH FRONTAL PASSAGE. LEFT
POPS IN THU/FRI AS MOISTURE LINGERS...AND UPSLOPE COMPONENT POSSIBLE
IN NE FLOW BEHIND FRONT. TEMPERATURES COOLER WED WITH CLOUDS
INCREASING...THEN MODERATING THU WITH LESS CLOUD.

FCSTID =
GSP   68  94  70  88 /  40  30  30  30
AND   68  94  70  88 /  40  30  30  30
CLT   68  94  70  88 /  50  30  30  30
HKY   66  92  68  85 /  40  40  30  20
AVL   61  87  64  81 /  50  40  30  20

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

MCAVOY/07

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 4, 2:43 PM EST, 3 hours 47 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
343 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

320 PM     MATTHEWS                  NC   .75 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   MECKLENBURG                    SKYWARN HAM REPORTED DIME
                                          SIZE HAIL FOR SEVERAL
                                          MINUTES.

330 PM     CHARLOTTE                 NC   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   MECKLENBURG                    WSOC REPORTED QUARTER
                                          SIZE HAIL AND ESTIMATED
                                          GUST OVER 60 MPH IN SOUTH
                                          CHARLOTTE.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 4, 3:40 PM EST, 2 hours 50 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
440 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

415 PM     MARSHALL                  NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   MADISON                        SEVERAL TREES DOWN AT
                                          INTSCN OF HWY 19 AND MAIN
                                          ST. REPORT BY DEPUTY.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 4, 3:53 PM EST, 2 hours 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
453 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

335 PM     WEDDINGTON                NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   UNION                          NUMEROUS TREES DOWN IN
                                          WEDDINGTON AND W UNION
                                          COUNTY. ALSO NICKEL SIZE
                                          HAIL. REPORTED BY UNION
                                          EOC.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 4, 4:56 PM EST, 1 hour 34 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
556 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

552 PM     5 N MOCKSVILLE            NC   .88 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   DAVIE                          DIME AND NICKEL SIZE HAIL
                                          REPORTED BY TRAINED
                                          SPOTTER.

LAMB

Local storm report, Jul 4, 5:50 PM EST, 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
650 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

640 PM     GAFFNEY                   SC   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   CHEROKEE                       QUARTER-SIZED HAIL
                                          REPORTED IN DOWNTOWN
                                          GAFFNEY. REPORT FROM
                                          CHEROKEE COUNTY EMERGENCY
                                          MANAGEMENT.

640 PM     GAFFNEY                   SC   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   CHEROKEE                       LARGE TREE LIMBS DOWN AND
                                          BLOCKING ONE LANE OF
                                          LIMESTONE STREET...NEAR
                                          THE INTERSECTION WITH
                                          HIGHWAY 29. POWER IS ALSO
                                          OUT IN DOWNTOWN
                                          GAFFNEY...BUT UNCLEAR YET
                                          DUE TO WINDS OR
                                          LIGHTNING.

640 PM     GAFFNEY                   SC   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   CHEROKEE                       911 CENTER REPORTS A
                                          RAILROAD CROSSING GATE ON
                                          MONTGOMERY STREET
                                          TWISTED.

BURRUS

Local storm report, Jul 4, 6:19 PM EST, 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
719 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

710 PM     MAIDEN                    NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   CATAWBA                        TREES DOWN. PUBLIC
                                          REPORT.

JAT

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 64 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:30 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Rutherford

When: July 4, 6:30 PM EST
Where: Rutherford County, Lake Lure
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.402, -81.920 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning caused fires at 6 buildings.

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

Every storm in North Carolina in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5309538.