Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, July 8, 2008

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, July 8, 2008
Start: 2008-07-08T11:52
End: 2008-07-08T17:20
Location: North Carolina

July 8, 2008 · NWS GSP · 14 events in 9 counties and zones

Several severe storms affected western North Carolina during the afternoon and evening hours.

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: 14

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.

Several severe storms affected western North Carolina during the afternoon and evening hours.

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 8, 11:29 AM EST, 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 8, 11:29 AM EST, 23 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1229 PM EDT TUE JUL 8 2008

.SYNOPSIS...
THE BERMUDA HIGH WILL BUILD OVER THE REGION INTO MID WEEK. A WEAK
COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE REGION LATE WEDNESDAY AND WILL MOVE
THROUGH ON THURSDAY. THE FRONT SHOULD SETTLE SOUTH OF THE AREA
THURSDAY NIGHT WHERE IT WILL SLOWLY WEAKEN THROUGH SATURDAY.

&&

.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
LATEST IN A SERIES OF VORT MAXES CURRENTLY ROUNDING BASE OF S/WV
AIDED IN DRIVING SHOWER ACTIVITY ACRS THE NW NC PIEDMONT ATTM. NEXT
IMPULSE...POSSIBLY THE REMNANTS OF MIDWEST MCS ACTIVITY...
ENCROACHING UPON EASTERN TENN. ALONG AND EAST OF THIS FEATURE...
WOULD EXPECT CURRENT TSTMS TO EXPAND IN CVRG TOWARD THE NC MTNS
THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE GENERAL FLOW REGIME REMAINING FAVORABLE
TO SUPPORT SCATTERED TSTMS WITHIN THE ABOVE NORMAL PWAT
VALUES....ELSEWHERE ACRS THE CWFA INTO THIS EVENING. DESPITE
MOIST PROFILES ON AREA SNDGS...AREAS OF MODERATE INSTABILITY
WILL AID IN THE FORMATION OF ISOLATED SVR STORMS PRODUCING
PENNY SIZED HAIL AND 60 MPH WIND GUSTS.

&&

.SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
AS OF 245 AM TUESDAY...THE LATEST MODEL RUNS HAVE ENOUGH OF THE
INGREDIENTS IN PLACE FOR A CONTINUATION OF MAINLY DIURNAL SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE REST OF THE SHORT TERM. THE MAIN CONCERN
IS THE TIMING. WEDNESDAY SHOULD BE QUIET FOR THE BETTER PART OF THE
MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON AS SHORT WAVE RIDGING PUTS A DAMPER ON
THINGS...BUT EVENTUALLY DEEP CONVECTION SHOULD DEVELOP BY LATE
AFTERNOON. THE NAM CONTINUES TO BE FASTER THAN THE GFS WITH A WEAK
BOUNDARY DROPPING DOWN FROM NW LATE WEDNESDAY...WHEREAS THE GFS
MOVES THE BOUNDARY THROUGH WED NITE. THINK THE MOST REASONABLE
SCENARIO IS FOR CONVECTION TO DEVELOP TO THE NW ON WEDNESDAY CLOSER
TO THE BETTER FORCING...AND PROPAGATE DOWN ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA.
THIS WOULD MEAN THE NAM WOULD BE RIGHT IN EFFECT...EVEN IF THE REAL
BOUNDARY REMAINS TO THE N. ASSUMING THIS WORKS OUT...SOME LINGERING
CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY WOULD PERSIST INTO THE LATE NIGHT OVER THE
PIEDMONT...BEFORE DYING IN THE PREDAWN HOURS. HAVE RAISED PRECIP
CHANCE ABOUT 10 PERCENT ACCORDINGLY. SCATTERED CONVECTION SHOULD
FIRE UP AGAIN NEAR THIS BOUNDARY SETTLING ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA
ON THURSDAY. TEMPS WERE BUMPED UP A DEGREE OR TWO BASED ON THE
GUIDANCE TREND.

&&

.LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/...
AS OF 330 AM TUESDAY...THE LATEST GFS CONTINUES THE TREND OF PUSHING
A SURFACE BOUNDARY TO THE SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA THURSDAY
NIGHT...SO THAT MODEL ACTUALLY HAS A DRY FORECAST ON FRIDAY. THE
ECMWF IS A BIT WEAKER WITH A SURFACE HIGH MOVING PAST TO THE NORTH
SO IT IS POSSIBLE THE FRONT WILL REMAIN STALLED CLOSE ENOUGH TO KEEP
A CHANCE OF PRECIP ACROSS THE SRN PART ON FRIDAY. THE POP WILL BE
LOWERED FRIDAY NIGHT HOWEVER...GIVEN THE LACK OF FORCING. OTHER THAN
THAT...THE MAIN ADJUSTMENT WILL BE TO THE TEMPS THROUGH THE WEEKEND
GIVEN THE WARMER TREND OF GUIDANCE.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
DEEP CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT ACRS THE MTNS EARLY THIS AFTERNOON WILL
BE EXPANDING IN CVRG ACRS THE FA THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AND INTO
EARLY EVENING. EXPECTED SCATTERED NATURE OF STORMS WILL LIMIT
CONFIDENCE OF OCCURRENCE AT ANY SPECIFIC TERMINAL TO JUST A VCTS
FOR NOW. EXPECTED DIURNAL NATURE OF STORMS SHOULD ALLOW ACTIVITY TO
DIMINISH LATE IN THE EVENING. 12 UTC MOS GUIDANCE LIMITS ANY EARLY
MORNING MVFR RESTRICTIONS TO JUST KAVL AND BASED ON PERSISTENCE WILL
CONTINUE TO LEAVE OUT ANY MENTION FOR THE TIME BEING.

OUTLOOK...LITTLE OVERALL CHANGE THRU SATURDAY...AS SFC RIDGE REMAINS
OFFSHORE BRINGING MOISTURE UP OVER OUR REGION. EXPECT MAINLY DIURNAL
CONVECTION WITH ASSOC HAZARDS.

&&

.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

&&

SYNOPSIS...PM
NEAR TERM...CSH/JDL
SHORT TERM...PM
LONG TERM...PM
AVIATION...CSH

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 8, 5:00 AM EST, 6 hours 52 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
600 AM EDT TUE JUL 8 2008

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033-035>037-048>053-056>059-062>065-
068>072-082-501>510-SCZ001>014-019-091000-
RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-AVERY-ALEXANDER-
IREDELL-DAVIE-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-BUNCOMBE-CATAWBA-
ROWAN-GRAHAM-NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA-
HENDERSON-CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS-UNION NC-
CALDWELL MOUNTAINS-GREATER CALDWELL-BURKE MOUNTAINS-GREATER BURKE-
MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS-EASTERN MCDOWELL-RUTHERFORD MOUNTAINS-
GREATER RUTHERFORD-POLK MOUNTAINS-EASTERN POLK-OCONEE MOUNTAINS-
PICKENS MOUNTAINS-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS-GREATER OCONEE-
GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG-CHEROKEE-YORK-
ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD-
600 AM EDT TUE JUL 8 2008

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS
AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON. THE COVERAGE OF STORMS
SHOULD BE GREATER TODAY COMPARED TO YESTERDAY...BUT THE SEVERE
WEATHER POTENTIAL IS SOMEWHAT DIMINISHED. A FEW OF THE STORMS
SHOULD STILL MANAGE TO GROW LARGE ENOUGH TO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND
PERHAPS SOME DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. THE ACTIVITY SHOULD DIMINISH
DURING THE EVENING HOURS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY
AND THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING TO VERIFY SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS.

MOORE

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 8, 11:50 AM EST, 2 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1250 PM EDT TUE JUL 8 2008

NCZ052-081745-
HAYWOOD-
1250 PM EDT TUE JUL 8 2008

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT CENTRAL HAYWOOD COUNTY THROUGH
145 PM EDT...

AT 1242 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 8 MILES NORTH OF MAGGIE VALLEY...OR 11 MILES
NORTHWEST OF WAYNESVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 9 MPH.

THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  5 MILES NORTH OF LAKE JUNALUSKA BY 130 PM EDT.

SMALL HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS OF 30 TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM.

KRENTZ

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 65 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:50 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Henderson

When: July 8, 11:52 AM EST
Where: Henderson County, 3 mi SW of Mills River
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 35.369, -82.618

Thunderstorm Wind, Haywood

When: July 8, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Haywood County, 0.2 mi SW of Pines Creek
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 35.678, -82.973

Trees and power lines were blown down in the Fines Creek area, including one tree down on I-40 near mile marker 13.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cleveland

When: July 8, 2:52 PM EST
Where: Cleveland County, 1.25 mi S of Shelby
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 35.282, -81.548

Trees were blown down on Royster Ave.

Hail, Lincoln

When: July 8, 3:30 PM EST
Where: Lincoln County, 0.98 mi ESE of Iron Station
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 35.443, -81.155

Penny size hail was reported near the intersection of highway 27 and Orchard Rd.

Thunderstorm Wind, Gaston

When: July 8, 3:40 PM EST
Where: Gaston County, 1.29 mi ENE of Ranlo
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.288, -81.109

A tree was blown down on Lowell Spencer Mountain Rd at Main St. and a tree was blown onto a house in the Lowell area.

Hail, Union

When: July 8, 3:44 PM EST
Where: Union County, 2 mi N of Waxhaw
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.949, -80.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Iredell

When: July 8, 3:45 PM EST to 4:10 PM EST
Where: Iredell County, 6.5 mi W of Mooresville to 3 mi E of Mooresville
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 35.580, -80.936

Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the southern part of the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mecklenburg

When: July 8, 3:50 PM EST to 4:30 PM EST
Where: Mecklenburg County, 7 mi W of Charlotte to 10 mi ENE of Charlotte
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 35.230, -80.974

Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the city, with the east side of town being the hardest hit.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mecklenburg

When: July 8, 4:10 PM EST
Where: Mecklenburg County, 1.75 mi SE of Charlotte
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 35.215, -80.825

Numerous trees down on the east side of Charlotte.

Thunderstorm Wind, Iredell

When: July 8, 4:30 PM EST
Where: Iredell County, 3 mi SE of Harmony
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 35.919, -80.732

Tree limbs 3 to 4 inches in diameter were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cabarrus

When: July 8, 4:40 PM EST to 4:50 PM EST
Where: Cabarrus County, 2.5 mi NW of Mt Pleasant to 4.5 mi ENE of Mt Pleasant
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 35.426, -80.481

Numerous trees were blown down in the Mount Pleasant area, with damage being most concentrated in the Mount Olive Rd area.

Thunderstorm Wind, Union

When: July 8, 4:40 PM EST to 5:20 PM EST
Where: Union County, 14 mi W of Monroe to 12.5 mi E of Monroe
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 34.980, -80.817

Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the county.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cabarrus

When: July 8, 4:45 PM EST
Where: Cabarrus County, 1.7 mi ESE of Concord to 0.72 mi ENE of Concord
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 35.408, -80.574

A tree was blown down on a house off Virginia St in Concord, which caused significant damage to the roof. Another tree was blown down on Hillindale St.

Hail, Union

When: July 8, 5:20 PM EST
Where: Union County, 3 mi S of Monroe
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.937, -80.570

What these are

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 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, July 2008

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: 128017, 128019, 128022, 128028, 128029, 128030, 128033, 128034, 134392, 128039, 128040, 128041, 128042, 128043.