North Carolina, 2009

Hail and Lightning Strike in North Carolina, April 21, 2009

April 21, 2009 · NWS GSP · 4 events in 2 counties and zones

A few severe hail storms affected the western Piedmont of North Carolina during the afternoon 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
$5,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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 few severe hail storms affected the western Piedmont of North Carolina during the afternoon 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 Apr 20, 6:59 PM EST, 17 hours 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 20, 6:59 PM EST, 17 hours 21 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 20, 2:41 PM EST, 21 hours 39 minutes before
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The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 121 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:20 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Catawba

When
April 21, 12:20 PM EST
Where
Catawba County, 0.74 mi W of Longview
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
Amateur Radio
Coordinates
35.729, -81.383

Hail, Iredell

When
April 21, 1:00 PM EST
Where
Iredell County, 1.17 mi WNW of Olin
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
County Official
Coordinates
35.958, -80.868

Hail was reported on Jennings Rd.

Lightning, Catawba

When
April 21, 1:00 PM EST
Where
Catawba County, Claremont
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
Newspaper
Coordinates
35.720, -81.150

Lightning struck a storage shed on S Depot St, igniting a fire that destroyed the building and its contents.

Hail, Iredell

When
April 21, 2:28 PM EST
Where
Iredell County, 1.61 mi WSW of Charles
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
35.913, -80.877

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, April 2009

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: 166561, 166564, 166590, 166566.