Thunderstorm Wind, Rutherford
- When
- July 31, 6:15 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rutherford County, Bostic
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 35.367, -81.850
Several trees were blown down.
Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 31, 2003
1 thunderstorm wind, 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
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 31, 2:05 PM EST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 2:05 PM EST, 4 hours 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 305 PM EDT THU JUL 31 2003 CONVECTION IS ONGOING ACROSS NE GA AND THE SW CAROLINAS. 18 UTC MSAS SHOWS MOISTURE CONVERGENCE INCREASING ACROSS THE EASTERN ESCARPMENT OF THE BLUE RIDGE...WITH SE FLOW INCREASING ACROSS THE UPSTATE AS WEAK TMB BEGINS TO MIX OUT. 17 UTC RUC RUN CONTINUES THIS TREND WITH EVEN STRONGER LLVL MOISTURE CONVERGENCE DEVELOPING BY 20 UTC. BEHIND THE LITTLE MCS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING OVER NE GA...THE FLOW IS SW...SO LARGE SCALE CONVERGENCE IS BECOMING EVIDENT OVER THE REGION. LAPS CAPES ARE ONCE AGAIN AROUND 2000 THIS AFTN...AND BOTH THE ETA AND GFS HAVE PVA INCREASING THROUGH THE LATE AFTN AHEAD OF A SHORT WAVE CURRENTLY OVER CENTRAL TN. ALL OF THIS POINTS TOWARD KEEPING THE FFA IN PLACE THROUGH AT LEAST MIDNIGHT. WHILE THE MID LEVEL FLOW IS A LITTLE STRONGER TDA...TRAINING ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND SRN ESCARPMENT STILL LOOKS LIKE A VERY GOOD POSSIBILITY. ON FRI...MID LEVELS DRY OUT CONSIDERABLY. DEEP LLVL CONVERGENCE DEVELOPS OVER THE MTNS ONCE AGAIN...THOUGH MID LEVEL FLOW AND FORCING WL BE QUITE WEAK. AIRMASS WILL STILL BE UNSTABLE...AND WHILE COVERAGE WL NOT BE AS GREAT...TSRA SHOULD DEVELOP IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS IN THE AFTN AND DRIFT E. HAVE GONE W/HIGHEST POPS IN THE IMMEDIATE LEE AS A RESULT. ON SAT...UPPER LOW CONTINUES TO DRIFT SLOWLY SE ACROSS THE WRN GREAT LAKE STATES. A STRONG SHORT WAVE WL BE DROPPING TOWARD MEMPHIS BY 00 UTC (GFS IS ABOUT 6 HRS FASTER)...WHILE A WEAKER WAVE WL EXTENDED ACROSS THE ERN ZONES. LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER DAY W/SCT CONVECTION. APPEARS AN MCS WL BEGIN TO AFFECT THE WRN ZONES LATE SAT NGHT. CAN/T SAY IF IT WL BE STRONG OR JUST SOME DYING REMNANTS...BUT OVERNIGHT POPS WARRANTED IN THE WRN ZONES. DEEP LAYER RH...A GOOD VORT AND BETTER SHEAR ON SUNDAY. CHANCE POPS FOR NOW...BUT MAY NEED TO UP THEM LATER. FCSTID = 14 GSP 70 85 69 87 / 60 30 30 30 AND 70 85 70 87 / 60 30 30 30 CLT 70 85 70 87 / 70 30 30 30 HKY 68 83 68 85 / 80 40 30 40 AVL 66 82 65 83 / 60 30 30 40 .GSP... GA...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT FOR ZONES GAZ010...GAZ017>018. NC...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT FOR ZONES NCZ054...NCZ059...NCZ063>067. SC...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT FOR ZONES SCZ001>007. MCAVOY
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 31, 3:48 AM EST, 14 hours 27 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-311100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 448 AM EDT THU JUL 31 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY ACROSS THE AREA TODAY. SOME AREAS THAT EXPERIENCED FLOOD PROBLEMS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS MAY BE AT RISK FOR FURTHER FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. RB
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 31, 2:34 PM EST, 3 hours 41 minutes before
GAZ026-312030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED UGC CODE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 334 PM EDT THU JUL 31 2003 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT FRANKLIN COUNTY THROUGH 430 PM... AT 330 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM LOCATED 12 MILES WEST OF CARNESVILLE...MOVING EAST AT AROUND 20 MPH. THROUGH 430 PM...THIS STORM WILL AFFECT AREAS FROM FAIRVIEW...TO CARNESVILLE...TO PLAINVIEW. STRONG WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF AN INCH IN AN HOUR WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS AS THIS STORM PASSES. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL NEWS MEDIA FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. LANE
Special weather statement, Jul 31, 4:08 PM EST, 2 hours 7 minutes before
SCZ010-312150- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 508 PM EDT THU JUL 31 2003 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS TO MOVE ACROSS ANDERSON COUNTY... A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER LAKE HARTWELL WILL CONTINUE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH ACROSS ANDERSON COUNTY THROUGH 6 PM. PEOPLE IN ANDERSON COUNTY...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE GREATER ANDERSON AREA AND THE I-85 CORRIDOR SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. 55
Local storm report, Jul 31, 4:56 PM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
556 PM EDT THU JUL 31 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
540 PM 3 N PETERSBURG NC FLASH FLOOD
07/31/03 MADISON SPOTTER REPORTED BEETREE
CREEK WAY OUT OF ITS
BANKS...FLOODING SOME
ADJACENT FIELDS. ALSO
RECORDED 2.75 OF RAIN IN
40 MIN.
LAMBSpecial weather statement, Jul 31, 5:04 PM EST, 1 hour 11 minutes before
SCZ006-010-312250- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 604 PM EDT THU JUL 31 2003 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHEAST ANDERSON COUNTY... A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CENTERED ROUGHLY OVER THE BELTON AREA AT 6 PM...WILL CONTINUE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. THESE STORMS SHOULD MOVE INTO RURAL SOUTHERN GREENVILLE COUNTY THROUGH 7 PM...EFFECTING AREAS SUCH AS FORK SHOALS AND PRINCETON. PEOPLE IN SOUTHEAST ANDERSON AND SOUTHERN GREENVILLE COUNTIES SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. 55
Special weather statement, Jul 31, 5:13 PM EST, 1 hour 2 minutes before
GAZ028-029-312315- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 613 PM EDT THU JUL 31 2003 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING HART AND ELBERT COUNTIES... A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CENTERED ROUGHLY OVER THE DANIELSVILLE AREA AT 610 PM...SHOULD CONTINUE TO DEVELOP EASTWARD AT 20 MPH. THESE STORMS SHOULD MOVE ACROSS SOUTHERN HART AND ELBERT COUNTIES BETWEEN 630 AND 730 PM AND POSSIBLY REACH LAKE RUSSELL AS WELL. PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING... AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. 55
Special weather statement, Jul 31, 6:08 PM EST, 7 minutes before
SCZ007-013-010015- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 708 PM EDT THU JUL 31 2003 ...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING THE ENOREE RIVER... A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS...WITH STRONG CELLS EMBEDDED WITHIN IT ...WILL CONTINUE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH INTO SOUTHERN SPARTANBURG AND UNION COUNTIES. AREAS FROM ENOREE TO CROSS KEYS ...THEN OVER TOWARD UNION...WILL BE EFFECTED WITH LOCALIZED HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH THROUGH 830 PM. 55
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:12 UTC.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning, Rutherford
- When
- July 31, 6:15 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rutherford County, Bostic
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 35.402, -81.920 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning sparked several fires.
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.
- 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
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 31, 2003
- Hail in Iowa, July 31, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, July 31, 2003
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Ohio, July 31, 2003
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, July 31, 2003
- Hail in Iowa, July 31, 2003
- Hail in Iowa, July 31, 2003
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 31, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 31, 2003
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Georgia, July 31, 2003
- Damaging Wind in California, July 31, 2003
- Hail in Missouri, July 31, 2003
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5329913, 5329914.