Lightning killed a swimmer at Wrightsville Beach.
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 ILM wrote it up.
Lightning killed a swimmer at Wrightsville Beach.
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 Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 25, 1:55 PM EST, 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 255 PM EDT FRI SEP 25 2009 .SYNOPSIS...UNSETTLED CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING AS A SERIES OF FRONTS MOVE ACROSS THE AREA. YET ANOTHER FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS LATER MONDAY USHERING IN THE COOLEST AIR MASS OF THE EARLY FALL SEASON. RELATIVELY COOL AND DRY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF NEXT WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 10 AM FRIDAY...A BACKDOOR COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED FROM GSB TO EWN THIS MORNING AND THIS FRONT WILL SLOWLY DRIFT S AND INTO THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON. THIS FRONT WILL LIKELY NOT MOVE SOUTH OF THE SOUTH SANTEE RIVER UNTIL VERY LATE THIS EVE. AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY...THERE IS DECENT LIFT AND PRECIPITABLE WATERS ARE ABOVE 2 INCHES. GIVEN THIS...WE EXPECT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON. CONVECTION WILL HANG ON WELL INTO THE EVE ACROSS SOUTHERN AREAS...ESPECIALLY FROM AROUND FLO TO MYR. FURTHER N...THE CHARACTER OF PRECIPITATION WILL TRANSITION TO STRATIFORM LIGHT RAIN. CLOUDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON...BECOMING CLOUDY FROM N TO S THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. INCREASING CLOUDS WILL HOLD TEMPS SLIGHTLY BELOW MAXIMUMS ON THU...BUT STILL ABOVE CLIMATOLOGY. EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER TONIGHT WILL ALLOW LITTLE VARIATION IN MINIMUMS THROUGHOUT. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 3 PM FRIDAY...500MB RIDGE WILL GIVE WAY TO TO A SUBTLE NORTHWESTERLY FLOW BY THE END OF THE PERIOD AS A CLOSED LOW NOW IN THE CENTRAL PLAINS MOVES RAPIDLY INTO QUEBEC BY MONDAY. AT THE SURFACE...INITIALLY THE PERIOD WILL BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF WEDGING HIGH PRESSURE WITH MOISTURE STREAMING IN VIA A SOUTHWEST FLOW NEAR 850MB AND ABOVE. MARKED DIFFERENCES IN THE GFS AND WRF SOLUTIONS FOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH REGARDS TO THE WARM FRONT AND MORE IMPORTANTLY THE FORCING IN THE WARM SECTOR. THE WRF FEATURES STRONG VERTICAL LIFT ACROSS NORTHERN PARTS OF OUR CWA COURTESY OF 500MB VORTICITY WHILE THE GFS ONLY HAS A HINT AT THIS WITH THE STRONGER FORCING ACROSS THE APPALACHIANS. THE GFS LOOKS MORE REASONABLE AND HAVE FOLLOWED IT FOR THE DETAILS. FOR SATURDAY...LOOKS LIKE LIGHT STRATIFORM RAIN VIA THE WEDGE SCENARIO. HAVE ADDED THUNDER TO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS LATE SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY MORNING AS ALL AREAS WILL BE IN THE WARM SECTOR. I DONT SEE A LOT OF FORCING WHILE THE AREA IS IN THE WARM SECTOR OVERNIGHT OTHER THAN THE APPROACH OF THE FRONT SUNDAY MORNING. THEREFOR THE TREND FOR POPS IS A CHANCE FOR THE DAY SATURDAY AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS...A SLIGHT DECREASE IN POPS IN THE 0600 TO 1200 UTC WINDOW SUNDAY...FOLLOWED BY A SLIGHT UPTICK FOR SUNDAY MORNING AS THE FRONT MOVES ACROSS. THE ONLY INTERESTING POINT TO BE MADE REGARDING TEMPERATURES IS THAT OVERNIGHT LOWS INTO SUNDAY MORNING WILL DROP LITTLE IN THE WAKE OF THE WARM FRONT. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... AS OF 3 PM FRIDAY...GUIDANCE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH TIMING OF COLD FROPA ON MONDAY AT THE SFC IN SHOWING AN AFTERNOON WIND SHIFT. LACK OF APPRECIABLE MOISTURE ALSO LEADING TO MODEL AGREEMENT IN A DRY FROPA. THE TIMING OF THE ENSUING CAA IS NOT AS WELL AGREED UPON. THE GFS IN PARTICULAR SEEMS TOO FAST WITH THE LL COLD AIR...WHICH USUALLY LAGS BEHIND THE SFC BOUNDARY ON ACCOUNT OF THE MOUNTAINS FRAGMENTING THE BOUNDARY IN THE VERTICAL. MONDAY NIGHT WILL THUS BRING LOW TEMPS PRETTY CLOSE TO CLIMO. ON TUESDAY THE CAA SHOULD MAKE THE BIG DIFFERENCE IN BRINGING HIGHS ABOUT A CATEGORY BELOW CLIMO. COOL AND DRY CONDS CONTINUE TUE NIGHT INTO WED. WED NIGHT LOOKS LIKE THE BEST BET FOR A GOOD RAD COOLING NIGHT. HIGH MOVES JUST TO OUR EAST BY THU AND THERE SHOULD BE A LITTLE WEAK WAA. MID LVL MOISTURE SHOULD BEGIN TO INCREASE AS 500MB FLOW VEERS TO WESTERLY ON FRI. && .AVIATION /19Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... BACKDOOR COLD FRONT DROPS DOWN FROM THE NORTHEAST TODAY BRINGING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION. HIGH PRESSURE WEDGE DEVELOPS TONIGHT TURNING WINDS TO THE NE AND INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WHICH WILL LOWER CIGS. SCT CU HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS THE REGION WITH SC DECK ASSOCIATED WITH BACKDOOR FRONT JUST TO THE N. EXPECT FROPA FROM N TO S LATE THIS AFTN WITH TSRA AND MVFR CIGS/VSBYS...FIRST AT LBT/ILM AND LASTLY AT FLO/MYR. BEHIND THE FRONT A MORE STRATIFORM TYPE RAIN WILL CONTINUE FOR A FEW HOURS. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT AND FROM THE S/SW AHEAD OF THE FRONT...AND THEN NE...GUSTING TO 20 KT BEHIND IT TONIGHT...THE PERSISTENT NE FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO FEED IN LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WHICH WILL LOWER CIGS TO IFR WITH DZ/BR LIKELY AT ALL THE TERMINALS. SAT...THE COLUMN REMAINS SATURATED...SO IMPROVEMENT FROM IFR WILL BE SLOW. A WARM FRONT WILL HEAD NORTH THROUGH THE AREA LATER IN THE DAY. FOR NOW HAVE VCSH IN THE TAFS TO REFLECT THIS FURTHER RAIN POTENTIAL. EXTENDED OUTLOOK...WARM FRONT COMES BACK THROUGH THE AREA SAT NIGHT WITH MVFR RAIN. COLD FRONT PUSHES THROUGH THE REGION SUN...WITH CONDITIONS IMPROVING TO VFR FROM WEST TO EAST SUN NIGHT AND CONTINUING INTO THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK. A STRONGER COLD FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH THE REGION LATE MOM/MON NIGHT...BUT IT IS MOISTURE STARVED...SO VFR CONDITIONS SHOULD CONTINUE. && .MARINE... NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 10 AM FRIDAY...BACKDOOR COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FROM N TO S. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT AND RATHER VARIABLE AHEAD OF THE FRONT...SHIFTING TO THE NE AND INCREASING WITH ITS PASSAGE. STRONGEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP AFTER MIDNIGHT WHICH WILL LEAD TO BUILDING SEAS. NE WINDS WILL INCREASE TO NEAR 20 KT WITH SEAS BUILDING TO 4 TO 5 FT BEFORE DAYBREAK. SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 3 PM FRIDAY...INITIALLY THE FLOW WILL BE FROM THE NORTHEAST AS A BACKDOOR FRONT SHOULD CLEAR THE SOUTHERN WATERS. DURING THE DAY SATURDAY...WINDS WILL VEER TO THE EAST THEN SOUTHEAST BY THE LATE EVENING HOURS AS THE FRONT RETURNS NORTH AS A WARM FRONT. FINALLY WINDS WILL VEER FURTHER TO A WESTERLY DIRECTION BY MIDDAY SUNDAY AS A COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE WATERS. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL OCCUR SUNDAY MORNING AS THE FRONT MOVES ACROSS...15 TO 20 KNOTS. SEAS WILL INCREASE FROM EARLY SATURDAY UNTIL MIDDAY SUNDAY MOST LIKELY STAYING JUST UNDER SMALL CRAFT CRITERIA IN A 3-5 FOOT RANGE. LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... AS OF 3 PM FRIDAY...MONDAYS PREFRONTAL WINDS AND SEAS THE ONLY NON-TRIVIAL OF THE PD. THERE COULD BE A BRIEF PD WHERE SCEC HEADLINES ARE NEEDED AS 5 FT SEAS ENCROACH UPON THE 20NM BOUNDARY. TUE WILL BRING VERY LIGHT OFFSHORE/NW WINDS AS HIGH PRESS BUILDS IN FROM THE NW. AS THE HIGH GROWS NEARER ON WED A VEER TO NNW OR EVEN N CAN BE EXPECTED AS SPEEDS REMAIN AT 10KT OR BELOW. SEAS VERY TAME...LESS THAN 2 FT FOR MOST OF THE LONG TERM BEYOND MON...AND MORESO MON NIGHT. && .ILM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...NONE. NC...NONE. MARINE...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...SHK NEAR TERM...RJD SHORT TERM...SHK LONG TERM...MBB AVIATION...JDW/RJD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 315 AM EDT FRI SEP 25 2009 NCZ087-096-097-099>101-SCZ017-023-024-032>034-039-046-260715- ROBESON-BLADEN-PENDER-COLUMBUS-BRUNSWICK-NEW HANOVER-MARLBORO- DARLINGTON-DILLON-FLORENCE-MARION-HORRY-WILLIAMSBURG-GEORGETOWN- 315 AM EDT FRI SEP 25 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA AND NORTHEAST SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. AMZ250-252-254-256-260715- SURF CITY TO CAPE FEAR NC OUT 20 NM- CAPE FEAR NC TO LITTLE RIVER INLET SC OUT 20 NM- LITTLE RIVER INLET TO MURRELLS INLET SC OUT 20 NM- MURRELLS INLET TO SOUTH SANTEE RIVER SC OUT 20 NM- 315 AM EDT FRI SEP 25 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 244 PM EDT FRI SEP 25 2009 NCZ100-101-251945- BRUNSWICK-NEW HANOVER- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...LELAND...SHALLOTTE...WILMINGTON... WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH 244 PM EDT FRI SEP 25 2009 ...THUNDERSTORM WITH GUSTY WINDS NEAR THE CAPE FEAR RIVER... A THUNDERSTORM WITH HEAVY RAINFALL AND WINDS GUSTING TO 40 MPH WILL SINK SOUTH ALONG THE CAPE FEAR RIVER THROUGH 345 PM. VISIBILITY WILL BE RESTRICTED ON ACCOUNT OF THE HEAVY WIND-DRIVEN RAIN. THE GUSTY WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE AS FAR WEST AS BATARORA...LELAND...TOWN CREEK...AND WINNABOW. 05
The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:59 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A thunderstorm moved quickly into the Wrightsville Beach area, and lightning struck a young man swimming near the Crystal Pier.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, New Hanover | 2009-09-25 | 18 | Male | In Water | Direct |
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, September 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: 195959.