Flash Flood and Hail in North Carolina, July 5, 2003

Name: Flash Flood and Hail in North Carolina, July 5, 2003
Start: 2003-07-05T13:45
End: 2003-07-05T16:00
Location: North Carolina

July 5, 2003 · NWS RNK · 5 events in 2 counties and zones

Thunderstorms during the afternoon of the 5th produced flash flooding, hail up to nickel size, and damaging winds. Thunderstorm winds downed trees in Hays, 5 miles north of Lawsonville, and downed a tree onto a house in Mulberry.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 happened

The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.

Thunderstorms during the afternoon of the 5th produced flash flooding, hail up to nickel size, and damaging winds. Heavy thunderstorm rains flooded and closed roads around Purlear.Thunderstorm winds downed trees in Hays, 5 miles north of Lawsonville, and downed a tree onto a house in Mulberry.

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 5, 12:24 PM EST, 1 hour 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 5, 12:24 PM EST, 1 hour 21 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
124 PM EDT SAT JUL 5 2003

OVERALL PERSISTENCE FCST INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK AS HIGH PRES REMAINS
OFFSHORE WHILE MOISTURE CONTS TO DEEPEN THRU MON. SEEING A FEW TSRA
ACROSS THE SW RIDGES ATTM ASSOCD WITH DIFFERENTIAL HEATING AND
EXPECT WILL SEE COVERAGE SPREAD TOWARD THE BLUE RIDGE THRU EARLY
EVE. THUS PLANNING ON CONTG A LOW CHC POP THIS EVE...THEN PC FOR
DEBRIS CLOUDS OVERNIGHT AS AREA REMAINS IN BETWEEN LIFT SOURCES TIL
LATE. WILL NUDGE TEMPS UP A BIT AGAIN TNGT GIVEN SOUPY ATMOS AND
SOME FOG AROUND.

SUNDAY-MON...MODELS CONT TREND OF LAST FEW RUNS IN BRINGING GULF
STATES S/W ENERGY NEWD SUNDAY AND INTO THE AREA SUNDAY NGT/MON. THIS
IN COMBO WITH SOME BACKING ALOFT SHOULD ACT TO INCREASE DEPTH OF RH
AND WITH HEATING EXPECT BETTER SHRA/TSRA COVERAGE SW SUNDAY...THEN
ELSW INTO MON. APPEARS NRN ZONES COULD STAY DRY TIL LATE SUNDAY AS
BEST LIFT REMAINS SW AND TO THE N WITH NEXT MCS. THUS PLAN ON MORE
CLOUDS SUNDAY-MON WITH DECENT TO HIGH CHC POPS. TEMPS NOT AS HOT
GIVEN CLOUDS AND MORE SHRA ALTHO WITH BEST FOCUS WEST COULD SEE ERN
ZONES GO CLOSER TO WARMER MAV.

EXTENDED...NRN STREAM LOOKS TO RE-ESTABLISH ESPCLY LATER IN THE WEEK
AS STRONG S/W TROF FOR JULY ATTEMPTS TO DRIVE A CD FRONT THRU THE
REGION. OTRW POPS LIKELY TO DECREASE SOME TUE WITH INIT WEAK TROF
SHUNTING DEEP RH S INTO THE CAROLINAS IN ASSOCIATION WITH UPPER FLOW
TURNING MORE W/NW. NEXT BEST CHC COMES WED AFTN AND SE THU WITH RH
RETURNING N AHEAD OF THE FRONT AND COOLING/FALLING HEIGHTS.
THEREFORE LIKE HIGH CHC POPS ESPCLY WED THEN MUCH DRIER COOLER THU
NGT THRU SAT FOR NOW.

FCSTID =    9
ROA   71  89  70  86 /  20  30  30  30
LYH   68  88  69  85 /  20  30  30  30
DAN   71  89  72  88 /  20  30  30  40
BLF   65  78  64  80 /  30  40  40  30
LWB   62  77  63  79 /  20  40  40  30
BCB   65  82  63  80 /  20  30  30  30
TNB   64  78  64  78 /  30  50  50  40

.RNK...
NC...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

JH/JDS

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 5, 5:21 AM EST, 8 hours 24 minutes before

NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059-
WVZ042>045-052215-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
621 AM EDT SAT JUL 5 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA...
WESTERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA...AS WELL AS NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

HOT AND HUMID CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE
THIS AFTERNOON WITH HEAT INDICES NEAR 100 FOR THE CITIES OF ROANOKE...
LYNCHBURG...DANVILLE...AND MARTINSVILLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

VERY WARM AND HUMID WEATHER CAN BE EXPECTED FOR SUNDAY THROUGH
WEDNESDAY.  HEAT INDICES MAY APPROACH 100 DEGREES IN AND AROUND THE
LARGER URBAN AREAS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 121 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:44 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Wilkes

When: July 5, 1:45 PM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Wilkes County, Purlear
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 36.206, -81.163 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Wilkes

When: July 5, 1:45 PM EST
Where: Wilkes County, 10 mi NE of Wilkesboro
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 36.250, -81.033

Thunderstorm Wind, Wilkes

When: July 5, 1:50 PM EST
Where: Wilkes County, Hays
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 36.250, -81.117

Thunderstorm Wind, Wilkes

When: July 5, 2:05 PM EST
Where: Wilkes County, Mulberry
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 36.250, -81.167

Thunderstorm Wind, Stokes

When: July 5, 3:10 PM EST
Where: Stokes County, 5 mi N of Lawsonville
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 36.550, -80.250

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5379628, 5379629, 5379630, 5379631, 5379632.