North Carolina, 2002

Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 4, 2002

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

1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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 Jul 4, 1:30 PM EST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 1:30 PM EST, 5 hours 30 minutes 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, 4:56 PM EST, 2 hours 4 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, 1 hour 10 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, 41 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
Local storm report, Jul 4, 6:33 PM EST, 27 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
733 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

717 PM     GAFFNEY                   SC   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   CHEROKEE                       SEVERAL TREES DOWN ON ELM
                                          ST. REPORT FROM CHEROKEE
                                          F.D.

720 PM     LINCOLNTON                NC   .75 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   LINCOLN                        DIME HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SKYWARN HAM.

717 PM     GAFFNEY                   SC   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   CHEROKEE                       BILLBOARD BLOWN DOWN AT
                                          INTSCN OF HWY 105 AND 29S
                                          DOWNTOWN. REPORTED BY
                                          F.D.

LAMB
Local storm report, Jul 4, 6:40 PM EST, 20 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
740 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

500 PM     4 W WEAVERVILLE           NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   BUNCOMBE                       ***INJURED 1, DEAD 0***
                                          TREES DOWN IN THE
                                          ALEXANDER COMMUNITY.
                                          REPORTED BY EOC.

NED
Local storm report, Jul 4, 6:55 PM EST, 5 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
755 PM EDT THU JUL 04 2002

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

730 PM     SALISBURY                 NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/04/02   ROWAN                          TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN. REPORTED BY EOC.

NED

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 41 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When
July 4, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Polk County, Columbus
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.250, -82.200

A few trees and powerlines 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 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: 5309428.