Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, June 20, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, June 20, 2002
Start: 2002-06-20T16:16
End: 2002-06-20T16:20
Location: North Carolina

June 20, 2002 · NWS GSP · 2 events in 1 county or zone

1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 Jun 20, 2:03 PM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 20, 2:03 PM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
303 PM EDT THU JUN 20 2002

ENOUGH MOISTURE AND LIFT IN THE MOUNTAINS...UNDER MID-LEVEL COLD
POOL...TO SPIN UP ISOLATED STRONG CONVECTION IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN
AREAS. WILL INCLUDE SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN
THE MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING...ELSEWHERE JUST PARTLY CLOUDY. BELIEVE
WINDS WILL STAY UP ENOUGH OUTSIDE MOUNTAINS TO PRECLUDE FOG
DEVELOPMENT OVERNIGHT...ALTHOUGH I AM FORECASTING A DECREASE LATE.

AM FEELING A BIT MORE CONFIDENT WITH THIS FORECAST PACKAGE THAN IN
PAST DAYS...AS MODELS SEEM TO FINALLY BE REACHING A CONSENSUS. UPPER
LOW TO MIGRATE WESTWARD ACROSS OUR EASTERN AREAS NEXT FEW
DAYS...FINALLY REACHING A POSITION IN THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.
BOTH ETA AND AVN REMARKABLY SIMILAR IN THEIR HANDLING OF SURFACE
WAVE ON SOUTHERN END OF INVERTED TROF ALONG COASTAL
SECTIONS...PLACING A LOW IN NORTH FLORIDA BY 48 HOURS. MOISTURE
MINIMUM ON FRIDAY...AND MODELS HAVE BACKED OFF ON THEIR 85H COLD
ADVECTION WITH THIS SYSTEM FOR FRIDAY. SINCE IT IS LATE JUNE AND
CLOUDS SHOULD BE SCATTERED AT BEST...WILL GO ABOVE GUIDANCE MAXES ON
FRIDAY ALL AREAS. COULD NOT RULE OUT ANOTHER ROUND OF ISOLATED
CONVECTION IN THE MOUNTAINS...BUT COLD POOL SHIFTS SOUTH BY LATE
TOMORROW AFTERNOON...AND RESULTANT LAPSE RATES NOT AS STEEP...BUT
WILL KEEP OUT OF FORECAST FOR NOW.

WE NOW EXPECT MOISTURE TO INCREASE STEADILY FROM THE SOUTHEAST LATE
FRIDAY NITE AND SATURDAY...AS UPPER LOW STRENGTHENS TO OUR
SOUTH...AND MODELS ADVERTISE A POTENTIALLY IMPRESSIVE UPSLOPE
RAINFALL EVENT FOR OUR REGION. HOWEVER...AVN QPF NOT
IMPRESSIVE...BUT WILL GO WITH 40 POPS IN NORTHEAST
GEORGIA/UPSTATE/AND THE SOUTHERN TIER COUNTIES OF NORTH CAROLINA FOR
SATURDAY...WITH 30S FOR REMAINING AREAS TO THE NORTH AND WEST. IN
ACCORDANCE WITH MODEL GUIDANCE...WHICH FEATURES PROGD MAXES IN THE
70S FOR MOST AREAS...WILL HAVE A RANGE OF 70S NORTH...TO NEAR 80
SOUTH.

LONG RANGE PATTERN LOOKS UNCHANGED UNTIL MIDWEEK. NOGAPS...ECMWF AND
CANADIAN BEGIN WEAKENING CLOSED LOW TO AN OPEN WAVE BY MIDWEEK...AND
ATTEMPT TO HAVE THE WAVE INFILTRATE THE PERSISTENT UPPER
RIDGE...WITH A SURFACE BOUNDARY WORKING TOWARD THE MID ATLANTIC
STATES FROM THE NORTH. SOUTHEAST STATES WILL REMAIN MOIST...WARM AND
UNSTABLE...SO LONGER RANGE PERIODS FEATURE A CHANCE OF CONVECTION
EACH DAY.

FCSTID = 44
GSP   64  87  65  79 /  20  10  20  40
AND   64  88  65  79 /  20  10  20  40
CLT   64  87  65  79 /  10  10  20  40
HKY   62  85  64  75 /  10  10  10  30
AVL   58  84  58  76 /  20  20  20  30

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

BURRUS

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 20, 1:22 PM EST, 2 hours 54 minutes before

GAZ010-017-NCZ033-048>053-058-059-062>065-SCZ001>003-202200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
222 PM EDT THU JUN 20 2002

THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP IN THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE
AFTERNOON...AND INTO THE EARLY EVENING.  COVERAGE OF THE STORMS WILL
NOT BE WIDESPREAD.  HOWEVER...SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BECOME
STRONG...WITH PEA TO MARBLE SIZE HAIL...AND GUSTY WINDS TO 40 MPH OR
HIGHER. CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL OCCUR IN THE MOUNTAINS...SO
PEOPLE IN OUTDOOR AREAS SHOULD MOVE TO SAFETY BEFORE A STORM ARRIVES.

A STORM OR TWO COULD PRODUCE A BIT LARGER HAIL...UP TO DIME OR
QUARTER SIZE...AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS COULD BECOME
NECESSARY IN THOSE CASES. WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES.

JONES

Local storm report, Jun 20, 1:57 PM EST, 2 hours 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
257 PM EDT THU JUN 20 2002

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

240 PM     4 NW LEICESTER            NC   .75 INCH HAIL
06/20/02   BUNCOMBE                       SPOTTER REPORTED

JONES

Local storm report, Jun 20, 3:34 PM EST, 42 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
434 PM EDT THU JUN 20 2002

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

420 PM     CHEROKEE                  NC   .75 INCH HAIL
06/20/02   SWAIN                          REPORTED BY COUNTY 911.

425 PM     BRYSON CITY               NC   WIND DAMAGE
06/20/02   SWAIN                          TREES DOWN

HANDEL

Local storm report, Jun 20, 4:08 PM EST, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
508 PM EDT THU JUN 20 2002

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

450 PM     OAK GROVE                 NC   1.50 INCH HAIL
06/20/02   MACON                          WALNUT SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          ON HWY 28.

HANDEL

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 99 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:16 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Graham

When: June 20, 4:16 PM EST to 4:20 PM EST
Where: Graham County, 2 mi E of Robbinsville
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.333, -83.783

Two trees were blown down.

Hail, Graham

When: June 20, 4:16 PM EST to 4:20 PM EST
Where: Graham County, 2 mi E of Robbinsville
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.333, -83.783

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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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, June 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: 5305778, 5305779.