Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 12, 2003

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 12, 2003
Start: 2003-07-12T22:00
End: 2003-07-12T22:00
Location: North Carolina

July 12, 2003 · 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 Jul 12, 9:37 PM EST, 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 12, 9:37 PM EST, 23 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1037 PM EDT SAT JUL 12 2003

CONVECTION CONTINUES TO FIRE AHEAD OF A MAJOR SHORTWAVE AND TROF
AXIS DIGGING INTO THE SOUTHEAST. A MAJOR FLASH FLOOD IS IN PROGRESS
IN THE SOUTHERN FOOTHILLS...FLOOD WATCH FOR THE FOOTHILLS HAS
ALREADY BEEN ISSUED FOR THE FOOTHILLS...AND SOME OF THE PIEDMONT.
RAISED POPS TO 40 FOR THE UPSTATE AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA. KEPT CHANCE
POPS IN FOR THE FAR WESTERN MOUNTAINS.

FCSTID =   44
GSP   68  86  67  87 /  40  40  40  30
AND   68  86  68  87 /  40  40  40  30
CLT   68  87  67  87 /  40  40  40  30
HKY   66  84  66  84 /  50  40  40  30
AVL   62  81  62  81 /  30  40  40  30

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES NCZ054>056...NCZ067>070.
SC...NONE.

BURRUS

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 12, 4:20 AM EST, 17 hours 40 minutes before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-121130-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
520 AM EDT SAT JUL 12 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AND ORGANIZE
ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON. THE STORMS MAY MOVE INTO
THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY THIS
EVENING...AND THEN MOVE ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF WESTERN NORTH
CAROLINA...AS WELL AS NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA
LATER IN THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. A FEW OF THE STORMS COULD PRODUCE
DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AND PERHAPS LARGE HAIL...ESPECIALLY
DURING THE EARLY TO MID EVENING IN AREAS WEST OF I-26 IN GEORGIA AND
SOUTH CAROLINA...AND WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE IN NORTH CAROLINA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

SCATTERD...MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
WILL BE POSSIBLE MOST DAYS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS EVENING.

LANE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 12, 9:10 PM EST, 50 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1010 PM EDT SAT JUL 12 2003

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

925 PM     3 NW BESSEMER CITY        NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/12/03   GASTON                         FD REPORTED OUT BLDG
                                          BLOWN OFF FOUNDATION.
                                          TREES DOWN SELLERS RD 9NW
                                          OF BESSEMER AND OLD MILL
                                          RD  EAST OF BESSEMER.

TJB

Local storm report, Jul 12, 9:14 PM EST, 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1014 PM EDT SAT JUL 12 2003

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

1010 PM    MT HOLLY                  NC   .88 INCH HAIL
07/12/03   GASTON                         HAM REPORTED DIME SIZE
                                          HAIL AND POWER OUT IN MT
                                          HOLLY.  ALSO POWER OUT AT
                                          SPENCER MTN AND NWS
                                          WEATHER RADIO FOR CLT
                                          AREA.

TJB

Local storm report, Jul 12, 9:38 PM EST, 22 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1038 PM EDT SAT JUL 12 2003

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

1005 PM    12 S MARION               NC   .75 INCH HAIL
07/12/03   MCDOWELL                       911 CENTER REPORTED DIME
                                          SIZE HAIL ALONG THE
                                          MCDOWELL/RUTHERFORD LINE
                                          SOUTH OF MARION.

TJB

Special weather statement, Jul 12, 9:38 PM EST, 22 minutes before

NCZ054>056-067>072-130415-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1038 PM EDT SAT JUL 12 2003

...THUNDERSTORMS ARE PRODUCING SEVERE WEATHER AND FLASH FLOODING
ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA PIEDMONT AND FOOTHILLS...

AT 1032 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED SLOW MOVING OR
NEARLY STATIONARY THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP ALONG A LINE
FROM 3 MILES SOUTH OF OLD FORT...TO CASAR...TO LINCOLNTON...TO
CHARLOTTE. THE STRONGEST STORMS IN THIS LINE ARE PRODUCING HAIL TO
THE SIZE OF PENNIES...AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. IN ADDITION...THE
SLOW MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS AND THEIR TENDENCY TO DEVELOP AND
REPEATEDLY MOVE OVER THE SAME AREAS WAS RESULTING IN RAINFALL RATES
AS HIGH AS 2 INCHES PER HOUR. THIS TORRENTIAL RAINFALL HAS ALREADY
RESULTED IN FLASH FLOODING ACROSS SOUTHERN MCDOWELL COUNTY.

AS THESE STORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND MOVE OVER THE SAME AREAS...
FLASH FLOODING IS LIKELY TO DEVELOP OVER NORTHERN RUTHERFORD
COUNTY...AND WILL BECOME POSSIBLE ACROSS NORTHERN CLEVELAND AND
LINCOLN COUNTIES AS THE EVENING PROGRESSES. IN ADDITION...THE
STRONGER STORMS WITHIN THE LINE WILL REMAIN CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE MEDIA FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. IF YOU LIVE ALONG CREEKS OR STREAMS IN THE
AFOREMENTIONED AREAS...ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT ARE PRONE TO
FLOOODING...BE PREPARED TO ACT QUICKLY IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED...OR
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS ISSUED.

LANE

Local storm report, Jul 12, 9:48 PM EST, 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1048 PM EDT SAT JUL 12 2003

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

1005 PM    MT HOLLY                  NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/12/03   GASTON                         SEVERAL 4-5 DIAMETER
                                          TREES DOWN AND NUMEROUS
                                          LARGE LIMBS DOWN.
                                          REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

LANE

Local storm report, Jul 12, 9:51 PM EST, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1051 PM EDT SAT JUL 12 2003

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

1040 PM    5 ESE LINCOLNTON          NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/12/03   LINCOLN                        HAM REPORTED HIGH WINDS
                                          AND LIMBS 2 INCHES IN
                                          DIAMETER BLOWN OFF TREES.

1035 PM    9 N RUTHERFORDTON         NC   WIND DAMAGE
07/12/03   RUTHERFORD                     911 CENTER RELAYED REPORT
                                          OF TREES DOWN IN UNION
                                          MILLS AREA.

TJB

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 99 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Thunderstorm Wind, Gaston

When: July 12, 10:00 PM EST
Where: Gaston County, 11 mi NW of Gastonia
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.383, -81.317

Large tree limbs were blown down.

Hail, Gaston

When: July 12, 10:00 PM EST
Where: Gaston County, 11 mi NW of Gastonia
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.383, -81.317

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, July 2003

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5329593, 5329594.