Tornadoes in North Carolina, May 9, 2008

Name: Tornadoes in North Carolina, May 9, 2008
Start: 2008-05-09T01:10
End: 2008-05-09T01:36
Location: North Carolina

May 9, 2008 · NWS GSP · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A mini-supercell thunderstorms produced a tornado with a nearly 20 mile path through the Gastonia and Charlotte metro areas during the early morning hours of May 9th.

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: $7.0 million
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 happened

The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.

A mini-supercell thunderstorms produced a tornado with a nearly 20 mile path through the Gastonia and Charlotte metro areas during the early morning hours of May 9th.

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 May 9, 12:27 AM EST, 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 9, 12:27 AM EST, 43 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
127 AM EDT FRI MAY 9 2008

.SYNOPSIS...
A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION TONIGHT AND THEN STALL OUT ON
FRIDAY. WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL TEMPORARILY PUSH THIS FRONT SOUTH OF
THE AREA ON SATURDAY BEFORE RETURNING NORTH AS A WARM FRONT ON
SUNDAY. DRY NORTHWEST FLOW WILL THEN FOLLOW FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK.

&&

.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/...
SHOWERS WITH SCT TSTMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST ACROSS THE
FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS...BEFORE
WINDS VEERING WESTERLY ADVECT IN DRIER AIR AND DIMINISH ACTIVITY IN
DOWNSLOPE FLOW. MOIST LOW LEVELS AND CONTINUED CLOUD COVER WILL KEEP
MINS TO THE WARMER SIDE OF MOS. THE DEEPER MOISTURE BAND SHOULD
CLEAR THE AREA BY 12Z FRI ALONG WITH ANY RESIDUAL PRECIP. DOWNSLOPE
FLOW SHOULD QUICKLY SCOUR CLOUDS WITH CLEARING CONDITIONS BY MID
MORNING FRI.

&&

.SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/...
AS OF 320 PM THURSDAY...BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON THE COLD FRONT SHOULD
BECOME STATIONARY NEAR THE NC/SC STATE LINE. I EXPECT THAT THE
FRONTAL PRECIPITATION WOULD PUSH EAST OF THE CWA BY FRIDAY
AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...A FEW LINGERING CONVECTIVE SHRA/TSRA MAY REMAIN
NEAR THE TN LINE. MILD LLVL THICKNESSES AND INCREASING INSOLATION
SHOULD TEMPERATURES IN THE MID 70S IN THE MTNS AND L80S EAST.

FRIDAY NIGHT...A DECENT S/W WILL RIPPLE ACROSS KY/TN WITH THE SFC
REFLECTION MOVING OVER THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. LINGERING
INSTABILITY AND MARGINAL SYNOPTIC LIFT MAY SUPPORT SCT SHRA/TSRA
DURING THE PRE-DAWN HOURS. AFTER SUNRISE SAT...DRY HIGH PRESSURE
WILL NOSE SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE CWA. INSTABILITY SHOULD BECOME
INCREASINGLY LIMITED ACROSS NC THROUGH THE MORNING...PUSHING
INSTABILITY FURTHER SOUTH ACROSS SC DURING THE AFTERNOON.

SATURDAY NIGHT...THE CENTER OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL SHIFT OVER THE
ATLANTIC AS ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM ORGANIZES ACROSS THE MID
WEST. HIGH PRESSURE SHOULD CONTINUE TO NOSE ACROSS THE CWA THROUGH
THE DAY. HOWEVER...A WARM FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW IS FORECAST
TO ROTATE NORTH ACROSS THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS SUN MORNING AND
AFTERNOON. THE WARM FRONT WILL STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME A WEAK IN-SITU
AREA CAD...KEEPING TEMPS ACROSS THE NC FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT
LIMITED TO AROUND 70. HOWEVER...THE UPPER SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY AND
THE EASTERN UPSTATE MAY EMERGE OUT OF THE CAD DURING THE LATE
AFTERNOON. ALLOWING CAPE TO BUILD TO 1000 J/KG ALONG WITH VEERING
LLVL WIND FIELDS. ALONG AND EAST OF THE WEDGE BOUNDARY COULD SEE A
FEW STRONG TO SEVERE TSRA DURING THE AFTERNOON. A SIGNIFICANT COLD
FRONT SHOULD SWEEP ACROSS THE REGION DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND
EARLY EVENING. IT IS UNCERTAIN THAT ENOUGH INSTABILITY WILL REMAIN
AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT TO SUPPORT A LINEAR MCS. IT DOES APPEAR THAT
THE TN BORDER AREAS WILL SEE THE STRONGEST CONVECTION AS THE STORMS
WILL ORIGINATE FROM THE WARM SECTOR ACROSS TN. SUN AFTERNOON AND
EVENING IS OUTLOOKED FOR POSSIBLE SEVERE TS IN SPCS DY4.

SUNDAY NIGHT...WIND FIELDS FROM THE SFC TO 1 KM WILL STRENGTHEN
SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT. IN FACT...H8 WINDS BRIEFLY
REACH 50-60 KTS ON THE GFS LATE SUNDAY NIGHT. I WILL INCREASE WINDS
ACROSS THE CWA AND INDICATE GUSTS RANGING FROM 25-30 KTS ACROSS THE
MTNS. IN ADDITION...STRONG CAA COULD BRING H85 TEMPS ACROSS THE TN
LINE TO 0C BY 12Z MON. USING A BLEND OF NATIONAL GUIDANCE AND GMOS I
WILL PAINT THE MTNS WITH TEMPS MAINLY IN THE 40S.

&&

.LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...
AS OF 315 PM THURSDAY...OVERALL THE 12Z GFS AND THE 00Z ECMWF AGREE
ON THE GENERAL PICTURE MON THROUGH THURS. MON MORNING BEGINS WITH
CLOSED UPPER LOW OVER THE MID ATLANTIC...WHICH MAKES LITTLE EASTWARD
PROGRESS THROUGHOUT THE DAY. MON SHOULD BE RELATIVELY DRY AND BREEZY
WITH GOOD PRESSURE GRADIENT IN PLACE ACROSS THE FA. WILL CARRY SOME
CHC POPS MAINLY ACROSS THE EAST TO ACCOUNT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF
LINGERING SHOWERS. HEIGHTS RISE TUES AS UPPER RIDGE OVER THE MIDWEST
BEGINS TO NOSE IN AND THE UPPER LOW GRADUALLY MOVES OFF THE EAST
COAST. TEMPS WARM 7 TO 8 DEGREES IN RESPONSE TO THE INCOMING RIDGE.
CONTINUED DRY TUES NIGHT THROUGH EARLY WED AS UPPER RIDGE CONTINUES
TO TRANSLATE ACROSS THE EASTERN CONUS. NEXT SYSTEM BEGINS TAKING
SHAPE EARLY WED AS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND SURFACE LOW MOVE OUT
OF THE PLAINS. THE GFS AND THE ECMWF DIFFER A BIT WITH THE HANDLING
OF THIS SYSTEM BUT BOTH SHOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RATHER STRONG COLD
FRONT POISED TO CROSS THE FA LATE WED. PERFECT PROG OF MODEL FIELDS
ALSO SHOWS THE POTENTIAL FOR A SEVERE WEATHER EVENT WED AFTERNOON
AND EVENING. THE GFS SHOWS 1000-1500 J/KG OF CAPE AND DEEP LAYER
SHEAR IN EXCESS OF 60 KTS AS THE FRONT CROSSES THE AREA. COOLER AIR
MOVES IN FOR THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK AS BOTH MODELS CARVE OUT A
RATHER LARGE EAST COAST TROUGH. FOR NOW WILL ONLY CARRY CHC POPS WED
THROUGH THUR TO ACCOUNT FOR SOME UNCERTAINTY AT THE BACK END OF THE
FORECAST PERIOD.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE HAS DIMINISHED AS UPPER FORCING MOVES
NORTHEAST OF THE AREA BUT ADDITIONAL LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE WILL
BRING SHOWERS FROM THE SOUTHWEST. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL
POSSIBLE FOR THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. MODEL GUIDANCE HAS BACKED OFF
ON EXTENT OF MVFR CIGS THAT COULD DEVELOP LATE TONIGHT SO JUST WENT
SCT MVFR LAYER ATTM. AN INCREASING WESTERLY DOWNSLOPE FLOW WILL
ALLOW CLEARING OF RESIDUAL LOW CLOUDS AFTER DAYBREAK...WITH GUSTY
WEST WINDS DEVELOPING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.

OUTLOOK...VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH SAT WITH SOME MVFR CLOUDS POSSIBLY
DEVELOPING LATE SAT NIGHT. ANOTHER ROUND OF SCT SHWRS/TSTMS AND
CIG/VSBY RESTRICTIONS EXPECTED SUN-SUN NIGHT. DRY WEATHER AND VFR
CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO RETURN MON-TUE.

&&

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

&&

SYNOPSIS...BSH
NEAR TERM...HG/RB
SHORT TERM...NED
LONG TERM...BSH
AVIATION...RB

Hazardous weather outlook, May 8, 10:44 PM EST, 2 hours 26 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1144 PM EDT THU MAY 8 2008

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033-035>037-048>053-056>059-062>065-
068>072-082-501>510-SCZ001>014-019-100345-
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-
1144 PM EDT THU MAY 8 2008

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

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EMBEDDED IN A LARGER AREA OF
RAIN SHOWERS WILL CROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST
GEORGIA THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. A FEW CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING STRIKES WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH ANY THUNDERSTORMS
OVERNIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE REGION SUNDAY EVENING...BRINGING
ANOTHER CHANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER TO MUCH OF THE REGION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 8, 7:50 PM EST, 5 hours 20 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
850 PM EDT THU MAY 08 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0810 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     GRANITE FALLS           35.80N 81.43W
05/08/2008                   CALDWELL           NC   PUBLIC

            PUBLIC REPORT OF A FUNNEL CLOUD OBSERVED FOR A FEW
            MINUTES AT GRANITE FALLS.

&&

DEO

Local storm report, May 8, 8:38 PM EST, 4 hours 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
938 PM EDT THU MAY 08 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0925 PM     TSTM WND DMG     UNION GROVE             36.02N 80.86W
05/08/2008                   IREDELL            NC   TRAINED SPOTTER

            A TRAINED SPOTTER MONITORING EMERGENCY TRAFFIC REPORTED A
            TREE ON A CAR ON MITCH ROAD NEAR UNION GROVE IN NORTHERN
            IREDELL COUNTY. THERE WAS A PERSON INSIDE THE VEHICLE WHO
            WAS REPORTED TO BE UNINJURED.

&&

DEO

Local storm report, May 8, 9:40 PM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1040 PM EDT THU MAY 08 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1022 PM     TORNADO          ADVANCE                 35.93N 80.41W
05/08/2008                   DAVIE              NC   TRAINED SPOTTER

            A TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED DAMAGE TO A HOUSE ON UNDERPASS
            ROAD AND DEBRIS IN THE ROADWAY.

&&

DEO

Local storm report, May 8, 9:46 PM EST, 3 hours 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1046 PM EDT THU MAY 08 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0926 PM     TSTM WND DMG     UNION GROVE             36.02N 80.86W
05/08/2008                   IREDELL            NC   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            TREES DOWN NEAR MITCH ROAD

&&

KRENTZ

Local storm report, May 8, 11:28 PM EST, 1 hour 42 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1228 AM EDT FRI MAY 09 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1022 PM     TORNADO          2 N ADVANCE             35.96N 80.41W
05/08/2008                   DAVIE              NC   TRAINED SPOTTER

            *** 1 INJ *** FOUR HOUSES DAMAGED...ONE COLLAPSED.
            TRAILER WITH TREES THROUGH IT. OTHER HOUSES WITH TREES ON
            THEM. NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.

&&

KRENTZ

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 103 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:10 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Gaston

When: May 9, 1:10 AM EST to 1:23 AM EST
Where: Gaston County, 1.16 mi S of Gastonia to 0.95 mi E of North Belmont
Rating: EF2
Path length: 9.36 mi
Path width: 75 yd
Continued into: Mecklenburg, Nc (GSP)
Property damage: $7.0 million
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey
Coordinates: 35.254, -81.177

A tornado track began just southeast of Gastonia and continued well into Mecklenburg County on the northwest side of Charlotte. Where the tornado first touched down, part of the roof was blown off the roof of an office building near the intersection of Union Rd and Garrison Bvd. The tornado continued east-northeast to the Garrison Blvd, S New Hope Rd area, where numerous homes and businesses received minor to moderate roof damage and numerous large trees were uprooted. The tornado produced sporadic, mainly minor damage as it moved through McAdenville, where it crossed I-85, blowing several cars off the interstate. The most significant damage was observed in the Catawba Heights/ Belmont area, near I-85, where much of the metal roof was peeled from a large wharehouse, causing 7 million dollars in damage. Another industrial business in this area lost most of its roof.

Tornado, Mecklenburg

When: May 9, 1:23 AM EST to 1:36 AM EST
Where: Mecklenburg County, 3.57 mi W of Paw Creek to 1.98 mi W of Clt Brockenbrough Ar
Rating: EF1
Path length: 8.85 mi
Path width: 75 yd
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey
Coordinates: 35.278, -81.013

A tornado began on the south side of Gastonia in Gaston County. It produced damage to several structures in extreme eastern Gaston County before moving into Mecklenburg County, where the track become more intermittent. The public reporting several large trees blown down in the area around Woodlyn Dr in Northwest Charlotte. The path ended in the Beatties Ford Rd area north of Charlotte, where an outbuilding was lifted and blown 20 to 30 feet and 2 large dumpsters were overturned.

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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 The tornado archive for North Carolina, 2008 Warnings in North Carolina, May 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 102656, 102666.