Lightning started a couple house fires over western North Carolina during the afternoon and evening hours.
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.
Lightning started a couple house fires over western North Carolina during the afternoon and evening hours.
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 Aug 20, 1:57 PM EST, 2 hours 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 257 PM EDT THU AUG 20 2009 .SYNOPSIS... AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND ITS ASSOCIATED SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE TOWARD THE REGION FROM THE NORTHWEST ON FRIDAY. THE FRONT SHOULD MOVE THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY. GRADUAL DRYING IS THEN EXPECTED SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY AS WEAK HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE REGION. MOISTURE WILL SLOWLY RETURN THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK UNDER THE RIDGE. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY/... IMPULSES WITHIN THE DEEP AND MOIST SW FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO TRIGGER DEEP CONVECTION INTO THIS EVENING. POCKETS OF MODERATE INSTABILITY WILL SUPPORT A FEW STRONG STORMS...BUT HIGH FREEZING LVLS/WET BULB ZERO HEIGHTS WILL LIMIT THE MAIN THREAT TO LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AS SNDGS INDICATE PWATS AROUND 2 INCHES. DEEP MOISTURE BAND LINGERS INTO THE OVERNIGHT...ESPECIALLY ACRS THE WESTERN CWFA. BUT... QUESTIONABLE AMOUNTS OF DEEP FORCING LEADS TO UNCERTAINTY WITH RESPECT TO NOCTURNAL PCPN CHANCES. WILL ON JUST A SHOTGUN CHANCE FOR THE BALANCE OF THE CWFA WITH HIGHER POP ACRS THE WESTERN MTNS AND WILL FAVOR HPC QPF...GENERALLY ON LIGHT SIDE. OTHERWISE...EXPECTING SOME DEGREE OF LOWER CLOUD REDEVELOPMENT...PATCHY MAINLY VALLEY/LOW SPOT BR...AND ANOTHER MUGGY NIGHT. AFOREMENTIONED DEEP RH BAND WILL CONTINUE TO BE A FACTOR FOR FRIDAY/S FCST...AS IT SLOWLY SAGS SE ACRS THE CWFA. SENSIBLE WX FCST WILL GENERALLY BE CLOSE TO PERSISTENCE...SHOWER AND TSTM CVRG INCREASING TO NUMEROUS CVRG BY THE AFTERNOON. && .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 230 PM THURSDAY...A REINFORCING UPPER WAVE IS EXPECTED TO ROUND THE MAIN LOW PRES SYSTEM OVER ERN CANADA FRI NIGHT INTO SAT...DIGGING INTO THE OH VALLEY. RECENT ECM RUNS HAVE FEATURED A DEEP CUTOFF LOW FORMING FROM THIS WAVE SE OF THE OH VALLEY...BUT THIS APPEARS TO BE AN OUTLIER...SO A CONSENSUS OF NAM/GFS AND ENSEMBLES WILL BE FEATURED WITH THE TIMING OF THE UPPER TROUGH. LINGERING CHANCE TO LIKELY FRI EVENING POPS WILL BE NEEDED AS THE DEEPER PRE/FRONTAL MOISTURE BAND TRAVERSES THE AREA. THE ASSOCIATED TRAILING SFC COLD FRONT WILL FINALLY PUSH INTO THE REGION BY DAYBREAK SAT AND WORK SLOWLY E OF THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH SAT NIGHT. THE BEST FORCING AHEAD OF THE TROUGH APPEARS TO COME TOGETHER LATE SAT WITH DECENT RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION JET DIVERGENCE COMBINING WITH THE DEEP LAYER DPVA. HOWEVER...DRYING WILL ONSET QUICKLY FROM SW WITH FROPA...AND THIS WILL COMBINE WITH A WESTERLY 850 MB DOWNSLOPE FLOW TO LIMIT POPS AND DIMINISH THEM FROM W TO E SAT THROUGH SAT NIGHT. THE LONGWAVE TROUGH AXIS SHOULD SLIP EAST OF THE AREA ON SUNDAY...BUT WITH A LINGERING UPPER LEVEL WEAKNESS ALONG THE SRN APPALACHIANS THROUGH SUN NIGHT. DRYING WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY...BUT STEEPENING LAPSE RATES UNDER THE TROUGH AXIS COULD LEAD TO ISOLATED MTN CONVECTION DURING PEAK HEATING. TEMPERATURES WILL BE A BLEND OF MOS GUIDANCE THROUGHOUT. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... AS OF 230 PM THURSDAY...A WEAK TROUGH OR SHEAR AXIS WILL PERSIST ALONG THE APPALACHIANS MON THROUGH WED. LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL ACQUIRE AN EASTERLY UPSLOPE COMPONENT EARLY MON...LIKELY KEEPING OR REINFORCING LINGERING BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTURE ACROSS THE REGION. LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL STEADILY VEER SE ON TUE THEN SOUTHERLY ON WED...WITH UPSLOPE SHIFTING ACCORDINGLY. WILL FEATURE DIURNAL...MAINLY MTN...SLIGHT CHC POPS MON THROUGH WED. UPPER HEIGHTS WILL BRIEFLY RISE LATE WED...BEFORE ANOTHER SHORTWAVE APPROACHES FROM THE NW ON THU. THE GFS FEATURES LOWER HEIGHTS ACROSS THE E THAN THE OTHER MODELS/ENSEMBLES FOR THU. LEANING AWAY FROM THE OPERATIONAL GFS...WILL JUST KEEP ISOLATED DIURNAL TSTM CHANCES GOING IN THE FORECAST AS A BACKDOOR COLD FRONT SHOULD STAY NORTH OF THE AREA THU. && .AVIATION /19Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND TSTMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ACRS THE FA INTO THIS EVENING. DEEP MOISTURE AND SOME DEGREE OF LIFT AND INSTABILITY LINGERS INTO THE OVERNIGHT...BUT OP MODEL RESPONSE...AND ESPECIALLY THE NAM...DIMINISH RESPONSE OUTSIDE OF THE THE NC MTNS. MAIN CONCERN FOR THE OVERNIGHT HOURS IS REDEVELOPMENT OF BR AND/OR LOW CLDS. WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN THE PATTERN AND MOISTENING OF BLYR...HAVE INTRODUCED CIG RESTRICTIONS AT ALL TERMINALS. BASED ON 12 UTC NUMERICAL GUIDANCE AND PERSISTENCE HAVE LIMITED VSBY RESTRICTIONS TO JUST KAVL/KHKY/KAND. BASED ON THIS MORNING/S TIMING OF IMPROVEMENT TO VFR...WILL SHOOT FOR 14 UTC AGAIN FRIDAY MORNING. AT KCLT...TSTM IN PROGRESS NEAR THE TERMINAL...BUT LATEST RUC HRRR FCST DIMINISHES CURRENT CVRG ACRS THE NC PIEDMONT AFTER 19 UTC... SO WILL PLAN ON TEMPO THRU THEN AND JUST A TOKEN VCSH/CB INTO MID-EVENING. BASED ON PERSISTENCE AND MOS AGREEMENT...HAVE INTRODUCED MVFR CIG 08-14 UTC. OUTLOOK...NUMEROUS TO WIDESPREAD SHRA/TSRA ACTIVITY FRIDAY AFTN/EVE...WITH CIG/VSBY RESTRICTIONS EXPECTED AGAIN FRIDAY NIGHT. A COLD FRONT PUSHES THRU THE AREA EARLY SATURDAY...USHERING IN DRIER AIR. && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...JPT NEAR TERM...CSH SHORT TERM...HG LONG TERM...HG AVIATION...CSH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 341 PM EDT THU AUG 20 2009 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033-035>037-048>053-056>059-062>065- 068>072-082-501>510-SCZ001>014-019-211945- 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- 341 PM EDT THU AUG 20 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA THROUGH TONIGHT. ONE OR TWO OF THE THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...HOWEVER...THE MAIN THREAT FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS. THE AIR MASS ACROSS THE REGION IS RICH IN TROPICAL MOISTURE WHICH SHOULD ALLOW SOME OF THE STORMS TO BE EFFICIENT RAIN PRODUCERS. THIS COULD RESULT IN LOCALIZED FLOODING WHERE SHOWERS PERSIST...ESPECIALLY TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA AGAIN ON FRIDAY. HEAVY RAINFALL FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOODING IN A FEW AREAS. AN ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM COULD PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE. HG
The Greer radar (KGSP), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:58 UTC.
2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning ignited a fire at a home on Wilson Rd, about two miles east northeast of Brevard, causing damage to the roof and attic.
Lightning struck a large home on Pimlico Ln, igniting a fire that caused enough damage to render the home uninhabitable.
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, August 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 194879, 194886.