Lightning Strike in South Carolina, April 10, 2003

Name: Lightning Strike in South Carolina, April 10, 2003
Start: 2003-04-10T09:40
End: 2003-04-10T09:40
Location: South Carolina

April 10, 2003 · NWS GSP · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning caused minor damage to two homes and ignited a small fire.

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: $15,000
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 happened

The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.

Lightning caused minor damage to two homes and ignited a small fire.

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 Apr 10, 6:00 AM EST, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 10, 6:00 AM EST, 3 hours 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
700 AM EDT THU APR 10 2003

WILL ISSUE UPDATE THIS MORNING TO ADD SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TO THE
EASTERN GROUP NEARER BETTER 850 TO 500 MB LAPSE RATES.

FCSTID =   33

.GSP...
GA...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES GAZ010...
     GAZ017>018...GAZ026...GAZ028>029.
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONE GAZ010.
NC...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES
     NCZ033...NCZ048>053...NCZ058>059...NCZ062>065.
     FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES
     NCZ033>037...NCZ048>059...NCZ062>072...NCZ082.
SC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES SCZ001>014...SCZ019.
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES
     SCZ001>003.

HG

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 10, 5:00 AM EST, 4 hours 40 minutes before

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014-
019-101200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
600 AM EDT THU APR 10 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY

DEEP LOW PRESSURE SPINNING OVER THE SOUTHEAST WILL BRING ABUNDANT
RAINFALL TO THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA THROUGH
TONIGHT. PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES MAY CREATE FLOODING
TODAY AND TONIGHT ON STREAMS AND RIVERS ACROSS THE AREA. A FLOOD
WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE AREA THROUGH TONIGHT. PLEASE
SEE THE PRODUCT FFAGSP FOR DETAILS ON THE FLOOD WATCH.

COLD AIR ALOFT UNDER THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL FURTHER ALLOW SOME
OF THE PRECIPITATION TO CHANGE OVER TO SNOW AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS
OF THE MOUNTAINS. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS WILL RANGE FROM AN INCH OR
LESS IN MOUNTAIN VALLEYS TO 6 TO 12 INCHES AT ELEVATIONS ABOVE 4000
FEET. PLEASE SEE THE WINTER STORM WARNING...WSWGSP...FOR FURTHER
DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO RELAY ANY FLOODING OR HEAVY SNOWFALL
REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

HG

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 10, 6:16 AM EST, 3 hours 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
716 AM EDT THU APR 10 2003

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

655 AM     COUNTYWIDE                NC   FLASH FLOOD
04/10/03   DAVIE                          COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS
                                          REPORTS 3 CREEKS OUT OF
                                          THEIR BANKS IN EASTERN
                                          DAVIE COUNTY.

HG

Local storm report, Apr 10, 6:37 AM EST, 3 hours 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
737 AM EDT THU APR 10 2003

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

705 AM     UNIONVILLE                NC   .88 INCH HAIL
04/10/03   UNION                          DEPUTY OBSERVED AND
                                          RELAYED REPORT THROUGH
                                          911

JONES

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:37 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Cherokee

When: April 10, 9:40 AM EST
Where: Cherokee County, Gaffney
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.048, -81.620 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

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

Every storm in South Carolina in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in South Carolina, April 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: 5353678.