A strong cold front and powerful upper level trough swept across central North Carolina late in the afternoon into the early evening hours on September 28, 2009. A band of showers and thunderstorms formed as the cold front moved east of the mountains and into central 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 RAH wrote it up.
A strong cold front and powerful upper level trough swept across central North Carolina late in the afternoon into the early evening hours on September 28, 2009. A band of showers and thunderstorms formed as the cold front moved east of the mountains and into central North Carolina. Some of these storms became severe and produced damaging winds and hail to the size of nickels.
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 Raleigh, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 28, 3:38 PM EST, 7 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 438 PM EDT MON SEP 28 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS CENTRAL NC LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING. BENEATH NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT... SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL GRADUALLY BUILD INTO AND REMAIN OVER THE REGION THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM TUESDAY MORNING/... AS OF 428 PM MONDAY... RECENTLY UPDATED THE NEAR TERM FORECAST TO ACCOUNT FOR BROKEN BAND OF CONVECTION CROSSING THE TRIAD REGION. MESO ANALYSIS DEPICTS A NARROW ZONE OF SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY WITH LIFTED INDICES AROUND MINUS 4 AND SOME LOW LEVEL THETA-E ADVECTION. SURFACE BASED CONVERGENCE HAS INCREASED WITH ARRIVAL OF SURFACE FRONT. HAVE INCREASED TO CHANCE INT EH NW AND SLIGHT CHANCE OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE PIEDMONT. IF THE LINE HOLDS TOGETHER...MAY NEED TO INCREASE POPS IN THE TRIANGLE AREA. DUE TO THE DIFFERENCE IN THE THETA-E BETWEEN 850-300MB...LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES AROUND 7.5 DEG C/KM...AND PRESENCE OF 35-40KTS OF WIND AT 4000-5000FT....EXPECT TO SEE GUSTY WINDS WITH SPEEDS 40-45 MPH. CANNOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED SEVERE STORM WITH GUSTS NEAR 60 MPH...MAINLY IN THE NORTHERN PIEDMONT. OTHERWISE...A STRONG COLD FRONT -- ASSOCIATED WITH A 985 MB SURFACE CYCLONE AND A DYNAMIC AND COLD UPPER TROUGH OVER SOUTHEASTERN ONTARIO -- STRETCHED FROM CENTRAL PA SOUTHWARD ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE TO CENTRAL MS/AL AND CENTRAL TX AT 18Z. EXPECT THE FRONT TO SWEEP EASTWARD ACROSS THE NC PIEDMONT AND INTO COASTAL PLAIN BY 00Z... THOUGH THE WARMTH OF THE PRECEDING AIR MASS SHOULD HOLD UNTIL AFTER SUNSET. TEMPERATURES HAVE ACCORDINGLY RISEN INTO THE 80S TO NEAR 90 DEGREES OVER THE SANDHILLS AND SOUTHERN PIEDMONT. IN ADDITION TO THE WARMING TEMPERATURES... THE STRONG SW FLOW AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT HAS ADVECTED A QUITE MOIST LOW LEVEL AIR MASS -- CHARACTERIZED BY SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 60S IN MANY LOCALES -- INTO THE REGION DURING THE PAST SEVERAL HOURS. THE MOISTENING LOW LEVELS COMBINED WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE 80S HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WEAK INSTABILITY AXIS OVER THE FOOTHILLS OF THE CAROLINAS. THE NORTHEASTWARD DEVELOPING INSTABILITY AXIS (OWING TO THE AFOREMENTIONED MOISTURE TRANSPORT AND COOLING TEMPERATURES) WILL SUPPORT THE PREVIOUS FORECAST OF A DEVELOPING BAND OF SPRINKLES OR SHOWERS AS THE STRONG LOW TO MID LEVEL FRONTAL ZONE AND HEIGHT FALLS ALOFT -- ON THE ORDER OF 60 TO 120 METERS/12 HR OVER NC BY 00Z -- SPREAD ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DESPITE COOLING TEMPERATURES ALOFT... CAPE SHOULD BE OF INADEQUATE DEPTH TO EXTEND INTO THE MIXED PHASE LAYER TO GENERATE ANY LIGHTNING IN CENTRAL NC. SKIES WILL RAPIDLY CLEAR WITH MUCH COOLER AND DRIER AIR POISED TO SETTLE INTO THE REGION BY DAYBREAK. EXPECT LOWS OF 48 TO 55 DEGREES... WITH DEWPOINTS FALLING SOLIDLY INTO THE 40S (PERHAPS SOME UPPER 30S WEST) BY SUNRISE. -MWS && .SHORT TERM /6 AM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 300 PM... THE CANADIAN TROUGH ALOFT WILL GRADUALLY FILL AND LIFT NORTH ON TUESDAY... BUT MAINTAIN A RELATIVELY STRONG NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AND LOWER HEIGHTS OVER THE MID ATLANTIC AND CAROLINAS... WHILE SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE REGION FROM THE WEST. SKIES SHOULD RANGE FROM CLEAR SOUTH TO PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A SMATTERING OF STRATOCUMULUS NEAR THE VA BORDER (IN CLOSER PROXIMITY TO THE COOL/MOIST UPPER LOW). 15-20 KTS OF WNW DOWNSLOPE FLOW AT H85 WILL PRODUCE SOME WESTERLY WIND GUSTS OF AROUND 20 MPH AND PERHAPS ADD A DEGREE OR TWO TO AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES.. WITH 69 TO 75 EXPECTED. LOWS IN THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 40S. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... AS OF 235 PM... WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE GREAT LAKES EXTENDS INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO WEDNESDAY MORNING AND WILL CONTROL NORTH CAROLINA WEATHER INTO THURSDAY NIGHT. AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DEVELOPS IN THE MIDWEST THURSDAY...A FLATTENING MID LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ADVANCES TOWARD THE CAROLINAS. FLOW SURFACE AND ALOFT BECOMES SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST FRIDAY... BRINGING THE WARMEST TEMPERATURES OF THIS FORECAST PERIOD TO CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. WITH THE MIDWEST LOW DIPPING NO FURTHER SOUTH THAN IOWA BEFORE BEGINNING TO LIFT TO THE NORTHEAST SATURDAY... CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THE CHANCE FOR A WETTING RAIN EVENT IS SMALL. WILL CONTINUE SLIGHT RAIN CHANCES FOR SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT IN THE GRAPHIC FORECAST. DRY AND WARM FORECAST AT THIS TIME FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY AS MID LEVEL FLOW BECOMES WESTERLY. AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE MID 70S WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY BEFORE WARMING TO 75 TO 80 FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD. LOW TEMPERATURES 45 TO 50 THURSDAY MORNING... MID 50S FRIDAY MORNING. LOW TEMPERATURES OF 58 TO 63 SATURDAY MORNING AND BEYOND. && .AVIATION /19Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... AS OF 240 PM... VFR CONDITIONS BUT WITH GUSTY SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS THROUGH THIS EVENING AND ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON... RESPECTIVELY. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE OFF THE BLUE RIDGE AND ACROSS CENTRAL NC THROUGH THIS EVENING. A BAND OF SCT TO BKN 4-8 THSD FT CLOUDS AND VFR SPRINKLES OR SHOWERS MAY ACCOMPANY THE FRONT THROUGH 02Z. STRONG SW WINDS (SUSTAINED 15 KTS GUSTS 20-30 KTS) AHEAD OF THE FRONT WILL VEER TO WESTERLY ONCE THE FRONT PASSES... AND SOME GUSTS INTO THE TEENS KTS WILL LIKELY PERSIST AS THE BRUNT OF THE COOLER INCOMING HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION THROUGH MIDNIGHT. SKIES WILL BECOME CLEAR OVERNIGHT... WITH NO WORSE THAN SCT STRATOCUMULUS AROUND 5 THSD FT ON TUESDAY... MAINLY NORTH. WEST WINDS WILL ALSO INCREASE INTO THE 9-13 KT RANGE WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 20 KTS. LOOKING AHEAD... VFR CONDITIONS WILL DOMINATE WITH HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING INTO AND OVER THE AREA THROUGH FRIDAY. -GIH && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SYNOPSIS...MWS NEAR TERM...MWS SHORT TERM...99 LONG TERM...99 AVIATION...MWS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 452 AM EDT MON SEP 28 2009 NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088-089-290900- PERSON-GRANVILLE-VANCE-WARREN-HALIFAX-FORSYTH-GUILFORD-ALAMANCE- ORANGE-DURHAM-FRANKLIN-NASH-EDGECOMBE-DAVIDSON-RANDOLPH-CHATHAM-WAKE- JOHNSTON-WILSON-STANLY-MONTGOMERY-MOORE-LEE-HARNETT-WAYNE-ANSON- RICHMOND-SCOTLAND-HOKE-CUMBERLAND-SAMPSON- 452 AM EDT MON SEP 28 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SUSTAINED WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 20 MPH THIS AFTERNOON... WITH WIND GUSTS OF 30 TO 35 MPH POSSIBLE. THESE WINDS WILL BE CAPABLE OF DOWNING SMALL TREE LIMBS AND TOSSING AROUND OUTDOOR OBJECTS. THE STRONG WINDS WILL DIMINISH THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. 77
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</html>The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:46 UTC.
25 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees were reported down on Williams Road.
Trees were reported down in the intersection of Concord Church Road and Dull Road. One tree fell down onto an unoccupied house at 8570 Concord Church Road. The tree broke through the ceiling and damaged an upstairs bedroom.
Several trees were reported down on Styers Ferry Road.
Nickel sized hail was reported at the intersection of Knollwood Street and Stratford Road.
Multiple trees were reported down on Brooks Lake Road. Approximately 12,000 customers were without power.
Several trees and power-lines were reported down at the intersection of Doggett and Beckett Roads.
Several trees were reported down at 1759 North Graham Hopedale Road.
Several trees were reported down at 2553 North Carolina 62.
Several trees were reported down on East Gilbreath Street and Woody Drive.
Trees were blown down on the Interstate 85 service road.
Trees were blown down near the intersection of Cooper Road and Martin Road.
Trees were blown down near the intersection of Cooks Mill Road and White Level Road.
One tree was reported down across 771 Fuller Mill Road North.
One tree was reported down across Kennedy Farm Road North.
One tree was reported down across Fairview Church Road.
One tree was reported down across the intersection of Mt. View Church Road and Caraway Mountain Road.
One tree was reported down on Chestnut Ridge Church Road at Holmes Road.
One tree was reported down at 3722 Old Greensboro Road.
One tree was reported down in the intersection of South Greensboro Street and East Frazier Avenue.
One tree was reported down on Martin Luther King Boulevard and Critz Drive.
Dime to nickel sized hail was reported along North Carolina Highway 96, near Cornwall Road.
Power-lines were reported down across United States Highway 64 and Shannon Road.
One tree was reported down across Silk Hope Lindley Mill Road, near Woody Store Road.
One tree was blown down across NC Highway 50 north of the Wake County line.|Other large limbs were also down in the area.
One tree was blown down at the intersection of N. Old Carriage Road and Hunter Hill Road.
Several trees were blown down along Highway 48 between Drake and Goldrock communities.
One tree and power-line were blown down along Blalock Road and St. Marys Road.
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 197219, 197217, 197218, 197215, 197220, 197221, 197224, 197223, 197222, 197242, 197243, 197244, 197234, 197235, 197236, 197239, 197225, 197226, 197240, 197227, 197216, 197229, 197228, 197245, 197241, 197246, 197247.