Hail, Gaston
- When
- April 10, 2:34 PM EST
- Where
- Gaston County, 1.9 mi N of Mt Holly
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 35.327, -81.014
Elevated thunderstorms produced large hail over the Piedmont and foothills of western North Carolina.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
Elevated thunderstorms produced large hail over the Piedmont and foothills of western North Carolina.
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, 1:43 PM EST, 51 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 243 PM EDT FRI APR 10 2009 .SYNOPSIS... STRONG LOW PRESSURE WILL PASS BY TO THE NORTH TONIGHT...DRAGGING A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE REGION. HIGH PRESSURE WILL SLOWLY BUILD IN FROM THE NORTHWEST SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL APPROACH FROM THE WEST BY MONDAY...BRINGING UNSETTLED WEATHER TO THE REGION THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/... AS THE DEEP UPPER LOW PRES CENTER MOVES EAST THROUGH KY LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING...STRONG DPVA AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE WILL LIFT ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA 21Z TO 00Z. MEANWHILE...A 130 KT UPPER LEVEL JET STREAK WILL STRETCH ACROSS THE DEEP SOUTH THIS EVENING...PRODUCING STRONG DIVERGENCE IN THE LEFT EXIT REGION OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS. THIS WILL ALLOW CONVECTIVE COVERAGE TO STEADILY INCREASE ACROSS THE AREA. THE MAIN UPPER FORCING WILL MOVE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA FROM THE WEST BETWEEN ABOUT 8 PM AND 1 AM. LOW LEVEL FLOW SHOULD BEGIN TO BACK SHARPLY TOWARD 21Z...STRONGLY ENHANCING LOW LEVEL HELICITY. A TONGUE OF LOWER 60S DEWPOINTS COINCIDENT WITH THE BETTER SHEAR AXIS WILL TRAVERSE THE SRN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING TO GREATLY ENHANCE THE ORGANIZED SEVERE TSTM THREAT. A WATCH IS LIKELY LATER THIS AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING. 850 MB FLOW WILL TURN QUICKLY WESTERLY OVERNIGHT FOLLOWING FROPA...PRODUCING DOWNSLOPE DRYING EAST OF THE MTNS. NORTHWEST FLOW SHOULD ALLOW UPSLOPE SHOWERS TO CONTINUE ALONG THE SPINE OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING...ALONG WITH WINDY CONDITIONS IN THE COLD ADVECTION FLOW. PROFILES STAY WARM ENOUGH FOR THE PTYPE TO REMAIN LIQUID. CONTINUED CLEARING THROUGHOUT IS EXPECTED SAT AFTN. A STRONG GRADIENT IN MAX TEMPS WILL DEVELOP...WITH HIGHS GENERALLY IN THE 50S IN THE MTNS AND LOW TO MID 70S IN THE SE PIEDMONT. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 205 PM FRIDAY...UPPER LEVEL RIDGE CONTINUES TO BUILD ACROSS THE MIDWEST SAT NIGHT WHILE THE LAST LOBE OF S/W ENERGY CROSSES THE CWFA TO THE EAST. THE GFS AND THE NAM BOTH AGREE ON THIS WAVE LEAVING THE AREA BY 06Z THUS ENDING ANY REAL CHANCE OF PRECIP. THE 12Z GFS DOES HANG ONTO H85 MOISTURE THROUGH THE DAY SUNDAY WHICH DOESNT MAKE MUCH SENSE CONSIDERING ITS BRINGING IT ACROSS THE MTNS IN DOWNSLOPE FLOW AND INTO AN INCREASING SUBSIDENCE INVERSION. HOWEVER...THE 12Z GFS HAS COME IN DRIER THAN THE 00Z GFS WHICH COMPARES MORE FAVORABLY WITH THE EVEN DRIER 12Z NAM. SO...WONT EXPECT MUCH CLOUD COVER NOR ANY UPSLOPE PRECIP AS DEPICTED BY THE GFS. THE MODELS DO AGREE ON DEVELOPING A FAIRLY STRONG INSITU WEDGE LATE SUNDAY AND MAINTAINING IT THROUGH MON. THE GFS IS MORE BULLISH WITH THE STRENGTH...BUT IN EITHER CASE THE EXPECTED WX SHOULD BE SIMILAR. THIS SITUATION HAS LED TO PUSHING BACK CHC POPS SUN NIGHT UNTIL AFTER 06Z MON FOR THE WRN THIRD OF THE CWFA. BASICALLY A DRY WEDGE SETTING UP SUN...BECOMING A MOIST WEDGE SUN NIGHT THROUGH MON. UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT WILL BE LOW WITH THE NEXT LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND COLD FRONT. H5 PVU/S ARE LESS THAN 1 AND H3 DIV REMAINS NW OF THE MTNS. ALSO...ANOTHER SIGN OF THE CLASSICAL GSP SLIT WILL BE INCREASED INSTABILITY TO THE SOUTH AND WEST. BUFKIT SOUNDINGS FOR KGSP INDICATE LI/S WILL REMAIN ABOVE 10 THROUGH MON AND THE NAM KEEPS ALL THE CONVECTIVE PRECIP OVER AL AND SRN GA THROUGH 00Z TUE. SO SUFFICE TO SAY...THE CHC THUNDER HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE GRIDS MON. STILL EXPECT LIKELY POPS MON AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS WEDGE CONTINUES TO HOLD AND PROVIDE VERY GOOD ISENTROPIC LIFT FOR WIDESPREAD -RA. MIN TEMPS ARE EXPECTED TO BE RIGHT AROUND NORMAL SUN...AND FEW ABOVE NORMAL MON AS OVC SKIES DEVELOP. HIGHS SHOULD ALSO BE RIGHT AROUND NORMAL SUN...WITH GOOD INSOLATION OFFSETTING AN INCREASING NE/LY FLOW AND WEAK CAA. HIGHS FOR MON WILL BE ABOUT 10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AS MOIST WEDGE SETS UP EARLY AND PERSISTS THROUGHOUT THE DAY. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... AS OF 240 PM FRIDAY...THE EXT RANGE BEGINS WITH STABLE WEDGE REMAINING IN CONTROL...HOWEVER UPPER DYNAMICS WILL BE INCREASING THROUGH MON NIGHT AND DURING THE DAY TUE. THE WEDGE SHOULD BREAKDOWN BY 12Z AS THE COLD FRONT CROSSES THE REGION. STILL DONT SEE MUCH UPPER SUPPORT WITH THIS FRONT. VORTICITY LOOKS TO REMAIN STREAMLINED WITH UPPER LOW AND THE STRONGEST FORCING CROSSES THE LOWER OH VALLEY. HARD TO JUDGE THE AMOUNT OF LLVL INSTABILITY DEVELOPING TUE AS THE WEDGE BREAKS DOWN FROM THE SW. SOME EVIDENCE EXISTS FOR TS POTENTIAL WITH LI/S DROPPING INTO THE LOWER SINGLE DIGITS AND WEAK ELEVATED CAPE SHOWING UP ON THE SOUNDINGS. ALSO...BOTH THE GFS AND THE ECMWF INDICATE ANOTHER POSSIBLE TRIPLE POINT LOW CROSSING THE UPSTATE AND PIEDMONT BTW 18Z AND 00Z. FOR NOW...WILL KEEP ALL THE PRECIP NON/CONVECTIVE AS TOO MUCH UNCERTAINTY EXISTS WITH THE TIMING OF THE WEDGE BREAKDOWN AND INCREASING INSTABILITY POTENTIAL. A PROGRESSIVE PATTERN IS EXPECTED THO...AND BY 06Z THE FRONT SHOULD BE NEAR THE COAST. ANOTHER WEAK WEDGE BUILDS IN THU AND REMAINS THROUGH FRI AHEAD OF YET ANOTHER SYS PUSHING INTO THE DEEP SOUTH. THE 12Z GFS HAS SLOWED DOWN AND IS MORE INLINE WITH THE 00Z ECMWF. THIS GIVE THE MED RANGE FCST BETTER CONFIDENCE AS THE GFS WAS PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY MODEL HANGING ONTO THE FASTER SOLN. SOLID CHC POPS STILL LOOK GOOD FOR FRI LINGERING INTO SAT AS THE AXIS OF THE SFC TROF SHOWS GOOD CONTIGUITY BTW THE OP MODELS. WONT EXPECT MUCH OF A WARM UP THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK...HOWEVER TEMPS WILL BE RIGHT AROUND NORMAL. THE LLVL WIND FIELD REALLY DOESNT GET A S/LY COMPONENT UNTIL LATE FRI AHEAD OF THE NEXT FRONT...BEFORE THAT A WEAKENING WEDGE WIND FIELD...NE/LY TO SE/LY IS EXPECTED. PLENTY OF SUNSHINE WED THROUGH FRI WILL HELP MAX TEMPS REACH AROUND 70 F NON/MTNS...MID 60S MTNS...IF NOT A FEW DEGREES ABOVE THU AND FRI. && .AVIATION /19Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... CONVECTION CONTINUES TO FIRE ALONG AND NW OF THE INTERSTATE 85 CORRIDOR THIS AFTERNOON IN A REGION OF STRONGER LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE AND UPSLOPE FLOW. THE GREATEST THUNDERSTORM THREAT THROUGH 21Z WILL BE FROM KAND TO KGSP...BUT THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD THROUGH THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS AS THE BETTER UPPER SUPPORT ARRIVES. TEMPO IFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED IN THE HEAVIEST SHOWERS...WITH GENERALLY PERSISTENT MVFR CONDITIONS ELSEWHERE. FLOW WILL REMAIN SOUTHERLY...WITH A FEW GUSTS NEAR THUNDERSTORMS. THE BEST COVERAGE OF THUNDERSTORMS...WITH THE HIGHEST RISK OF ASSOCIATED LIGHTNING AND SEVERE GUSTS...WILL BE FROM 00Z WEST TO 05Z EAST WITH CONVECTION ALONG THE MAIN FRONTAL PASSAGE. AT KCLT...SHOWERS WILL INCREASE FROM THE SW...WITH TEMPO THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON. MORE WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP BY 00Z THIS EVENING. SSW WINDS WILL BACK SLIGHTLY TO SOUTH AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING FRONT...AND STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY CROSS THE TERMINAL BETWEEN 02Z AND 05Z LATER THIS EVENING. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO WESTERLY BEHIND THE PASSING FRONT...WITH MVFR CONDITIONS SLOW TO SCATTER THROUGH DAYBREAK. OUTLOOK...DRY HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE REGION SAT AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY. THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING MOISTURE BACK INTO THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...WITH ASSOCIATED RESTRICTIONS DEVELOPING. SOME IMPROVEMENT IS EXPECTED TOWARD THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...HG NEAR TERM...HG SHORT TERM...SBK LONG TERM...SBK AVIATION...HG
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1133 AM EDT FRI APR 10 2009 GAZ029-SCZ006-007-010>013-019-101645- ELBERT-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG-ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS- UNION SC-GREENWOOD- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ELBERTON...GREENVILLE...SPARTANBURG... ANDERSON...ABBEVILLE...LAURENS...UNION...GREENWOOD 1133 AM EDT FRI APR 10 2009 ...ISOLATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE UPSTATE THROUGH 1230 PM... AT 1127 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM SOUTHERN ANDERSON COUNTY TO NORTHERN LAURENS AND SOUTHERN GREENVILLE COUNTY. THROUGH 1230 PM...MOST OF THIS ACTIVITY WILL REMAIN JUST SOUTH OF I-85 AS IT APPROACHES SOUTHERN SPARTANBURG AND UNION COUNTIES. ISOLATED EMBEDDED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BRIEF PERIODS OF SMALL HAIL...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. LANE
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1242 PM EDT FRI APR 10 2009 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-SCZ001>014-019-101845- RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-OCONEE MOUNTAINS- PICKENS MOUNTAINS-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS-GREATER OCONEE- GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG-CHEROKEE-YORK- ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CLAYTON...CLARKESVILLE...TOCCOA... HARTWELL...ELBERTON...GREENVILLE...SPARTANBURG...GAFFNEY... ROCK HILL...ANDERSON...ABBEVILLE...LAURENS...UNION...CHESTER... GREENWOOD 1242 PM EDT FRI APR 10 2009 ...ISOLATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE UPSTATE AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON... AT 1239 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA. THROUGH 2 PM...ISOLATED EMBEDDED STRONGER STORMS CAN BE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE BRIEF PERIODS OF SMALL HAIL... FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. MORE SIGNIFICANT THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED LATER THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING HOURS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL NEWS MEDIA FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. LANE
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
125 PM EDT FRI APR 10 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0108 PM HAIL 4 NW ANDERSON 34.56N 82.70W
04/10/2009 E0.75 INCH ANDERSON SC TRAINED SPOTTER
SPOTTER REPORTS 3/4 INCH HAIL ABOUT 3 MILES NORTH OF THE
ANDERSON COUNTY AIRPORT.
0115 PM HAIL 5 NW ANDERSON 34.57N 82.71W
04/10/2009 E0.75 INCH ANDERSON SC TRAINED SPOTTER
SPOTTER REPORTS 3/4 INCH HAIL ON CLEMSON BLVD...ABOUT 1
MILE SOUTH OF I-85.
&&
BSH<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html><!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html><!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The Greer radar (KGSP), 120 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:32 UTC.
9 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Reported at Coop station.
Numerous hail reports were received in this area. Reports included penny size hail near the Lowes Motor Speedway, several quarter size hail reports in the Concord area and half dollar sie hail in Mount Pleasant.
Hail reported on the campus of UNC Charlotte.
Trees were blown down in the Harris community.
A few trees were blown down in the Franks Creek area.
A large barn was destroyed, and several houses had shingles removed by the wind. The brick veneer was torn off a church and trees were blown onto homes.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, April 2009
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: 164303, 164304, 164305, 164307, 164310, 164319, 164322, 164324, 164325, 164327, 164329, 164556.