Name: Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 5, 2002
Start: 2002-07-05T20:38
End: 2002-07-05T20:38
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: 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 Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 5, 8:35 PM EST, 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 5, 8:35 PM EST, 3 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
935 PM EDT FRI JUL 5 2002

CONVECTION HAVING A HARD TIME MAKING SOUTH OVER THE PAST HOUR BUT
NOW IT APPEARS THAT THERE IS SOME DEVELOPMENT OVER PENDER COUNTY AND
THE STORM ALONG THE COAST OF ONSLOW COUNTY IS MOVING SOUTH ALONG THE
COAST WITH LI STILL IN THE -6 TO -7 RANGE. AS MENTIONED BY CAE THERE
APPEARS TO BE A CAP THAT HAS KEPT THE CONVECTION MORE TO THE NORTH
WHICH IS SHOWN IN THE LAPS SOUNDINGS.

THOUGHTS ARE TO GO WITH HIGHER POPS ALONG THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF
NORTH CAROLINA AND TRENDING TO LOWER POPS FOR THE SOUTHWEST PORTION OF
THE CWA.  ALSO UNTIL FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE CWA AND HIGH CLOUDS
CONTINUE FOR AREAS WITH NO RAINFALL. LOWS COULD REMAIN IN THE MIDDLE
70S.

CWF...WINDS OUTSIDE THE CONVECTION ARE RUNNING S TO SW AT 10 TO 15
KNOTS. SEAS RUNNING BETWEEN 2 AND 3 FEET. WILL MAKE A FEW CHANGES TO
FOCUS ON APPROACHING CONVECTION DOWN THE COAST. OTHERWISE NOT
CHANGES.

FCSTID = 7

ILM  73 88 69 88 /  30 20 10 10
LBT  71 89 66 88 /  30 20 10 10
FLO  72 90 68 89 /  30 20 10 10
MYR  74 88 70 88 /  30 20 10 10

.ILM...
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

HAWKINS

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 5, 3:56 PM EST, 4 hours 42 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON, NC
456 PM EDT FRI JUL 5 2002

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

0205 PM    CLIO                      SC   1.50 INCH HAIL
07/04/02   MARLBORO                       SHERRIFF REPORTED WALNUT
                                          SIZE HAIL WITH SEVERAL
                                          OLDER TREES DOWN ON
                                          THURSDAY.

DL

The radar

The Morehead City radar (KMHX), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:35 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Pender

When: July 5, 8:38 PM EST
Where: Pender County, Surf City
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.433, -77.550

Surf City Bridge measured a 60 mph wind gust.

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, 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: 5310564.