The combination of a very unstable atmosphere, weak shear and several outflow boundaries resulted in severe pulse-type thunderstorms across western North Carolina. Some of the storms produced wind damage and large hail as they drifted to the east.
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.
The combination of a very unstable atmosphere, weak shear and several outflow boundaries resulted in severe pulse-type thunderstorms across western North Carolina. Some of the storms produced wind damage and large hail as they drifted to the east.
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 Jul 4, 12:07 PM EST, 53 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 107 PM EDT MON JUL 4 2011 .SYNOPSIS... HUMIDITY AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL INCREASE TODAY AS A WEAK COLD FRONT DRIFTS DOWN FROM THE NORTH. THIS FRONT WILL STALL OVER THE REGION AND SLOWLY DISSIPATE THROUGH MID WEEK. ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL STALL OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS ON THURSDAY. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... A QUICK UPDATE TO ADJUST POPS AND ADD HEADLINES FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 594 IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... AT 1515Z...SHALLOW CU EXISTED ACROSS THE MTN PEAKS LATE THIS MORNING WITH CLEAR SKY COVER ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. IN ADDITION...A THIN LINE OF CU EXISTED OVER EAST TN ASSOCIATED WITH AN OLD OUTFLOW BOUNDARY. IT APPEARS THAT DEEP CONVECTION INITIATION WILL OCCUR WITHIN THE 16 TO 18Z TIME FRAME ACROSS THE HIGH TERRAIN. COVERAGE WILL EXPAND ACROSS THE MTNS BY MID AFTERNOON AS THE ATMOSPHERE DESTABILIZES AND WITH THE POSSIBLE ARRIVAL OF THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY. CONVECTION WILL SPREAD AND DEVELOP WITHIN A LEE TROF ACROSS THE NC FOOTHILLS BY MID AFTERNOON. COVERAGE SHOULD PEAK DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...WITH LIKELY TO CATE POPS OVER THE MTNS WITH HIGH CHC ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. MORNING SOUNDINGS AT KFFC AND KGSO OBSERVED THE FZL BETWEEN 14.5 TO 15 KFT...PLACING THE 55 DBZ CORE HEIGHT AROUND 26.5 KFT. PW VALUES RANGED FROM 1.6 TO 1.9 INCHES WITH K-INDEX IN THE MID TO UPPER 30S. MESOSCALE ANALYSIS INDICATES 3500 TO 3000 J/KG ACROSS THE MTNS WITH AROUND 2000 J/KG ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. DCAPE VALUES RANGE AROUND 1000 J/KG. GIVEN THE HIGH FZL AND MOISTURE CONTENT IT APPEARS THAT ONLY ISOLATED HAIL EVENTS ARE POSSIBLE. THE PRIMARY SVR THREAT WILL REMAIN DAMAGING WINDS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE MTNS AND NC FOOTHILLS. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 220 AM MONDAY...HPC PREFERS THE SLIGHTLY MORE OPEN AND PROGRESSIVE GFS SOLUTION TO THE SLOWER MORE CLOSED UPPER TROUGH ON THE NAM FOR TUE. THIS IS MORE IN LINE WITH THE OLD RUN OF THE ECMWF AND IT/S WHAT I/VE GONE WITH FOR THIS FORECAST AS WELL. LLVL THICKNESSES IMPLY ANOTHER HOT DAY WITH TEMPS RISING INTO THE L-M90S ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW A LITTLE CAPPING DURING THE AFTN AND CONVECTION MAY GET A LITTLE BIT OF A LATE START. HOWEVER...AS A SHORT WAVE TROUGH MOVES ACROSS THE MTNS DURING THE LATE AFTN...CONVECTION SHOULD BLOSSOM OVER THE HIGH TERRAIN AND SPREAD INTO THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. THE GFS HAS IT/S BEST CONVECTIVE COVERAGE DURING THE EVENING HOURS...AND THIS LOOKS LIKE AN EVENT THAT COULD GO WELL PAST SUNSET. ONCE AGAIN LAPSE RATES ARE NOT STEEP...BUT THE MID LEVELS DRY OUT A LITTLE ON THE GFS...AND THERE SHOULD BE A FEW MICROBURST PRODUCING PULSE SEVERE STORMS DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS CONSIDERING HOW HOT THE BNDRY LAYER WILL BE. THE WEAK LLVL BNDRY WILL BECOME QUITE DIFFUSE ON WED...BUT WE WILL BE UNDER AND H5 SHEAR AXIS WITH SEVERAL EMBEDDED SHORT WAVES ACCORDING TO THE GFS. WITH HIGH LAYER RH/S AND MODEST LLVL CONVERGENCE ACROSS THE MTNS...WE SHOULD SEE GOOD CONVECTIVE COVERAGE AGAIN IN THE AFTN. POPS HAVE BEEN RAISED TO 50 PERCENT ACROSS THE FA...WHICH IS IN LINE WITH THE NEIGHBORS. LIKELY POPS WILL PROBABLY BE NEEDED AS WE GET CLOSER TO WED. CONVECTION WILL SLOWLY WIND DOWN WED EVENING. WITH A MODEST SWLY BNDRY LAYER FLOW...SOME STRATUS MAY DEVELOP OVERNIGHT. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... AS OF 1200 PM MONDAY...NO NOTEWORTHY CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE MEDIUM RANGE FORECAST. OVERALL THE THINKING IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS FORECAST WITH THE EASTERN CONUS TROF LINGERING INTO THE START OF THE WEEKEND BEFORE STARTING TO WEAKEN. THE MODELS DIFFER A BIT REGARDING THE RIDGE ATTEMPTING TO BUILD BACK OVER THE EAST WITH THE EC HANGING ONTO THE TROF THE LONGEST. A SEMI STATIONARY BOUNDARY WILL REMAIN IN THE VICINITY OF THE FA INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR DEEP MOISTURE AND MODERATE TO STRONG LEVEL OF SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE WILL MORE THAN LIKELY BE NUMEROUS THROUGH ABOUT SUNDAY WITH PERHAPS A LITTLE LESS COVERAGE BY MONDAY. CONFIDENCE IN THE DAY 7 FORECAST IS STILL PRETTY LOW AT THIS POINT. FURTHERMORE...1000-500 MB FLOW WILL BE VERY WEAK EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING SO THE THREAT OF SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE A PRIMARY CONCERN. TEMPERATURES WILL BE CLOSE TO NORMAL THROUGH THE ENTIRE PERIOD...ESPECIALLY WITH WIDESPREAD CLOUD COVER AND THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY LIMITING MAX HEATING JUST A BIT. && .AVIATION /17Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... AT KCLT...BASED ON THE LATEST RUC HRRR AND WRF RESPONSE...DIURNALLY DRIVEN TSTMS EXPECTED TO ENCROACH UPON THE TERMINAL FROM MID-AFTERNOON ONWARD AND HAVE MAINTAINED CB MENTION TO COVER THREAT. UNTIL THEN EXPECT SW WINDS TO CONTINUE AND DEVELOPMENT OF VFR CU FIELD. MODEL OUTPUT REALLY WANES DEEP CONVECTION BY MIDNIGHT LEAVING JUST DEBRIS CLOUDS OVERNIGHT AND PERHAPS A PERIOD OF 5-6SM BR BY SUNRISE. GETTING MIXED SIGNALS WITH RESPECT TO ANY WIND SHIFT OVERNIGHT AS BNDRY SAGS THROUGH THE FA. WILL LEAVE LIGHT SW WINDS FOR NOW. ELSEWHERE...LOCALIZED MVFR VSBYS WILL BECOME UNRESTRICTED BY 14 UTC. OTHERWISE EXPECT CU FIELD TO DEVELOP IN THE MTNS THRU MIDDAY AND EXPAND INTO THE PIEDMONT THIS AFTERNOON. NUMEROUS TO SCATTERED TSTMS ARE ON TAP FROM EARLY AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. ANOTHER ROUND OF VSBY RESTRICTIONS IS ON TAP FOR TUESDAY MORNING AND COULD BE A BIT WORSE THAN PERSISTENCE. OUTLOOK...A VERY UNSETTLED PATTERN WILL BE IN PLACE ALL WEEK AS ONE FRONT DISSIPATES IN THE VICINITY AND ANOTHER COLD FRONT ARRIVES FROM THE NW LATE IN THE WEEK. MORNING MVFR FOG IS LIKELY...AT LEAST IN THE MTN VALLEYS...WITH SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS AFTN/EVENING TSTMS EACH DAY. && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...MCAVOY NEAR TERM...NED SHORT TERM...MCAVOY LONG TERM...MCAVOY AVIATION...CSH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1253 PM EDT MON JUL 4 2011 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ071-072-082-SCZ001>014-019-051700- RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS- UNION NC-OCONEE MOUNTAINS-PICKENS MOUNTAINS-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS- GREATER OCONEE-GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG- CHEROKEE-YORK-ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- 1253 PM EDT MON JUL 4 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE COVERAGE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE REGION TODAY...ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SLOW MOVING...PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IN AFFECTED AREAS. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...PRODUCING QUARTER SIZE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS OF 60 MPH OR GREATER. STAY INFORMED OF THE LATEST FORECASTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS AS YOU CARRY OUT YOUR HOLIDAY PLANS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP AGAIN ON TUESDAY ACROSS MOST OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY ONCE AGAIN BECOME SEVERE...PRODUCING DAMAGING STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. THE SLOW MOVING STORMS WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. ISOLATED AREAS OF FLASH FLOODING WILL BECOME MORE OF A CONCERN AS MORE AREAS RECEIVE HEAVY RAIN DURING THE WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE. NCZ033-035>037-048>053-056>059-062>065-068>070-501>510-051700- AVERY-ALEXANDER-IREDELL-DAVIE-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD- BUNCOMBE-CATAWBA-ROWAN-GRAHAM-NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON- SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA-HENDERSON-CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON- CALDWELL MOUNTAINS-GREATER CALDWELL-BURKE MOUNTAINS-GREATER BURKE- MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS-EASTERN MCDOWELL-RUTHERFORD MOUNTAINS- GREATER RUTHERFORD-POLK MOUNTAINS-EASTERN POLK- 1253 PM EDT MON JUL 4 2011 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 594 IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA AND WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP AGAIN ON TUESDAY ACROSS MOST OF THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY ONCE AGAIN BECOME SEVERE...PRODUCING DAMAGING STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. THE SLOW MOVING STORMS WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. ISOLATED AREAS OF FLASH FLOODING WILL BECOME MORE OF A CONCERN AS MORE AREAS RECEIVE HEAVY RAIN DURING THE WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1229 PM EDT MON JUL 04 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0445 PM TSTM WND DMG WOODRUFF 34.74N 82.03W
07/03/2011 SPARTANBURG SC FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
A SMALL TREE WAS DOWN NEAR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. NO OTHER
DAMAGE WAS KNOWN AND NO HAIL KNOWN IN WOODRUFF EVEN FROM
OTHER CALLS IN TOWN.
0510 PM TSTM WND DMG BUFFALO 34.72N 81.68W
07/03/2011 UNION SC 911 CALL CENTER
DISPATCH REPORTED A TREE DOWN AND HAD A PUBLIC REPORT OF
OTHER TREE LIMBS DOWN ON MILL STREET.
&&
OUTLAWSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
127 PM EDT MON JUL 4 2011
NCZ048-049-041800-
MADISON-YANCEY-
127 PM EDT MON JUL 4 2011
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT EASTERN MADISON AND WESTERN
YANCEY COUNTIES THROUGH 200 PM EDT...
AT 122 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES WEST OF FAUST...OR 10 MILES NORTHEAST OF
MARSHALL...MOVING EAST AT 5 MPH.
PEOPLE IN EASTERN MADISON AND WESTERN YANCEY COUNTIES...
SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER SITUATION CLOSELY. LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE
WARNINGS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION SHOULD SEVERE
WEATHER THREATEN.
PEA SIZE HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM.
LAT...LON 3602 8239 3586 8236 3584 8265 3600 8263
3600 8260 3599 8260 3597 8260 3596 8256
3598 8254 3598 8251 3602 8246
BSHSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
132 PM EDT MON JUL 4 2011
NCZ048-053-041800-
BUNCOMBE-MADISON-
132 PM EDT MON JUL 4 2011
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT SOUTHERN MADISON AND WESTERN
BUNCOMBE COUNTIES THROUGH 200 PM EDT...
AT 131 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES WEST OF CANTO...OR 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
MARSHALL...MOVING EAST AT 5 MPH.
THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
LEICESTER...
PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN MADISON AND WESTERN BUNCOMBE COUNTIES...INCLUDING
THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
LEICESTER...
SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER SITUATION CLOSELY. LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE
WARNINGS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION SHOULD SEVERE
WEATHER THREATEN.
PEA SIZE HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM.
LAT...LON 3581 8261 3559 8261 3563 8285 3564 8287
3565 8288 3576 8289
BSHThe Knoxville radar (KMRX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:01 UTC.
9 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was blown down on Clarks Chapel Rd. Large limbs were also blown down in the same area.
A few large tree limbs were blown down west of Lake Toxaway. A church building under construction was heavily damaged in town as well.
Trees and large limbs were blown down in the Patterson area.
Trees and large limbs were blown down in the Sawmills and Granite Falls areas.
A 17-year-old male was struck by lightning and injured while riding a motorcycle on Brown Mountain Beach Rd.
Multiple trees were blown down and the roof blown off an outbuilding in the Bethlehem community.
Multiple trees were blown down in the Lake Hickory area. Part of the copper roof of a home was also peeled off in the area as well.
A tree was blown down on power lines on Highland Ave, about 4 miles east of Hickory.
Trees were blown down in the Vashti community.
Dime to quarter size hail fell at Hudson Bvd and highway 321.
A few trees were blown down over the east-central part of the county, including near the intersection of Randolph Rd and N Sharon Amity Rd, Farmcrest Dr, and Woodstone Dr.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, July 2011
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: 337169, 337171, 337198, 337179, 337182, 337183, 337188, 337189, 337190, 337191, 337194.