Thunderstorms developed over the western North Carolina piedmont during the early morning hours as an upper low moved across the region. The storms produced copious amounts of hail.
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.
Thunderstorms developed over the western North Carolina piedmont during the early morning hours as an upper low moved across the region. The storms produced copious amounts of hail. In a few instances snow plows were used to clear the hail off of roads.
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 Mar 25, 1:56 AM EST, 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 256 AM EDT SUN MAR 25 2012 .SYNOPSIS... AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL MOVE OFF THE CAROLINA COAST THIS EVENING. DRY HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN BUILD ACROSS THE REGION FROM THE NORTH AND LINGER THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY. ANOTHER WEAK COLD FRONT WILL PUSH IN FROM THE NORTHWEST ON THURSDAY FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER RIDGE THAT BUILDS IN ITS WAKE. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF EARLY SUNDAY MORNING...SHOWERS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE NC PIEDMONT AND FOOTHILLS IN RESPONSE TO WEAK FORCING AROUND THE FORWARD EDGE OF THE APPROACHING UPPER LOW COMBINED WITH A WEAK SURFACE LOW OVER THE WESTERN PIEDMONT. THIS MAY CONTINUE THROUGH THE PRE-DAWN HOURS AS IT GETS SHUNTED OFF TO THE EAST BY THE MOVEMENT OF THE LOW. HAVE RAISED PRECIP CHANCES SLIGHTLY IN THIS AREA TO ACCOUNT FOR IT...AND HAVE ALSO REINTRODUCED THUNDER CHANCES BASED ON CONVECTIVE REDEVELOPMENT NW OF CHARLOTTE. TEMPS LOOK OKAY BUT DEWPOINTS WERE TWEAKED BASED ON CONTINUED PRESENCE OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE PLUME OVER THE WRN PIEDMONT. THE UPPER LOW WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING FOR THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS WILL FINALLY SPIN ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS THIS MORNING AND REACH THE COAST THIS AFTERNOON. ONCE THE LOW MOVES EAST...PROBABLY BY MIDDAY...WEAK DEFORMATION AND FRONTOGENESIS ON THE NW SIDE OF THE CIRCULATION AND LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE E OF THE MTNS WILL TAKE OVER. COLD AIR ALOFT WILL ALSO HELP KEEP LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES FAVORABLE FOR CONVECTION. THIS SHOULD RESULT IN A GOOD CHANCE OF SHOWERS OVER THE NC FOOTHILLS/PIEDMONT AND ERN PIEDMONT OF SC THROUGH THE DAY... FINALLY TAPERING OFF THIS EVENING. THE NC MTNS WILL GET SOME ADDITIONAL FORCING BY THE DEVELOPMENT OF NW FLOW UPSLOPE ON THE TN BORDER. THINK THE GUIDANCE HAS THE RIGHT TREND SO PRECIP CHANCES HAVE BEEN RAISED IN THESE AREAS. THE WRN UPSTATE AND NE GEORGIA HAVE A RELATIVELY POOR CHANCE FOR ANY OF THIS ACTIVITY AS THE BACKING FLOW WILL KEEP THEM DOWNSLOPE FOR THE BETTER PART OF THE DAY AS THE UPPER LOW DEPARTS. TEMPS WERE ADJUSTED DOWNWARD A FEW DEGREES OVER THE NC FOOTHILLS AND WRN PIEDMONT ACCORDINGLY. THE PRECIP CHC MAY LINGER ALONG THE TN BORDER INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS ON MONDAY... BUT SHOULD END LONG BEFORE SUNRISE. MIN TEMPS WERE NUDGED TOWARD A BLEND OF THE GUIDANCE. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 2 AM SUNDAY...THE SHORT TERM FCST PICKS UP AT 12Z ON MONDAY WITH THE REMNANTS OF THE CLOSED H5 LOW MOVING OFF THE CAROLINA COAST AND UPPER RIDGING BEGINNING TO BUILD BACK INTO THE REGION. UPPER RIDGING WILL REMAIN OVER THE FCST AREA THRU THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD...BUT WILL GET FLATTENED TO SOME DEGREE AS A WELL DEFINED UPPER SHORTWAVE MOVES OVER THE GREAT LAKES AT THE END OF THE PERIOD EARLY WED. ON MONDAY...A CANADIAN SFC HIGH WILL PUSH ITS WAY INTO THE REGION FROM THE NORTH AS THE DEPARTING SFC LOW MOVES FARTHER UP THE EASTERN SEABOARD. THE DRIER AIR SHOULD ALLOW CLOUD COVER TO DISSIPATE AND HELP STABILIZE THE BNDY LAYER. ON TUESDAY...THE SFC HIGH SLIDES FARTHER SE AND IS EXPECTED TO BE CENTERED OVER THE VICINITY OF THE CAROLINA COAST BY WED MORNING. LOW LVL WINDS WILL GRADUALLY VEER AROUND FROM NORTHERLY TO EASTERLY AND EVENTUALLY SOUTHERLY BY EARLY WED AS THE HIGH MOVES FARTHER SOUTH. I HAVE NO SIG PRECIP CHANCES THRU THE ENTIRE PERIOD WITH POPS BEGINNING TO RAMP UP WED AFTERNOON. TEMPS WILL START OUT WELL ABOVE NORMAL ON MONDAY AND THEN DROP A COUPLE OF CATEGORIES ON TUES AS THE CAD TYPE PATTERN WORKS ITS WAY INTO THE CWFA. ON TUES...HIGHS WILL REACH THE LOWER 70S OVER THE UPSTATE AND PIEDMONT AND THE UPPER 60S OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS...WHICH IS STILL ABOUT 4 TO 6 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL FOR LATE MARCH. TEMPS WILL QUICKLY REBOUND ON WED AS THE CAD DISSIPATES AND SOUTHERLY FLOW SETS IN. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... AS OF 2 AM SUNDAY...THE MEDIUM RANGE FCST PICKS UP AT 12Z ON WEDNESDAY WITH RELATIVELY FLAT UPPER RIDGING IN PLACE OVER THE SE CONUS AND A WELL DEFINED UPPER SHORTWAVE MOVING OVER THE GREAT LAKES. THE LONG RANGE MODELS SUGGEST THAT THIS SHORTWAVE WILL BECOME ABSORBED INTO A MUCH BROADER LONGWAVE TROF AS IT MOVES OFF THE NEW ENGLAND COAST. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD WEAK...UPPER RIDGING WILL SLOWLY PUSH BACK IN OVER THE REGION FROM THE WEST AS THE BROAD UPPER TROF LINGERS JUST OFF THE NEW ENGLAND COAST. AT THE SFC...THE CANADIAN HIGH WILL BE CENTERED SOMEWHERE IN THE VICINITY OF THE CAROLINA COAST WHILE A SFC LOW WILL MOVE OVER THE GREAT LAKES AND LAY A WEAK COLD FRONT OVER THE CWFA BY EARLY THURSDAY. MORE CANADIAN SFC RIDGING IS EXPECTED TO BUILD BACK OVER THE AREA AFTER THE FROPA AND REMAIN IN PLACE FOR THE REST OF THE MEDIUM RANGE. TEMPS WILL START OUT WELL ABOVE NORMAL ON WED AND THURS AND THEN DROP A COUPLE OF CATEGORIES AFTER THE FROPA BUT STILL REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD. && .AVIATION /07Z SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... AT KCLT...THE POSSIBILITY OF MORE SHOWERS WILL REMAIN THROUGH THE PRE-DAWN HOURS AS LONG AS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE REMAINS IN PLACE. THIS MAY KEEP A LOW CLOUD CEILING IN THE VICINITY FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. SATELLITE/OBS TRENDS SAY THE MVFR CEILING WILL REMAIN ON THE E SIDE OF THE METRO AREA SO THE TAF WAS KEPT OPTIMISTIC WITH ONLY SCT CLOUDS BELOW 030. LOW LEVEL WINDS WILL GRADUALLY BACK AROUND TO N AND NW THROUGH SUNDAY AS THE UPPER LOW MOVES OVERHEAD AND A WEAK SURFACE LOW DEPARTS TO THE E. CLOUDS MAY SCATTER OUT FOR A FEW HOURS THIS MORNING...BUT SHOULD COME RIGHT BACK AS THE UPPER LOW MOVES ACROSS THE REGION. ONCE ON THE BACK SIDE OF THIS FEATURE...UPPER FORCING AND LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE SHOULD SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE SHOWER ACTIVITY ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EARLY SUNDAY EVENING. THE ACTIVITY SHOULD MOVE OUT WITH THE LOW IN THE MIDDLE PART OF THE EVENING. ELSEWHERE...KHKY WILL HAVE SOME LIGHT RAIN THROUGH 07Z OR SO. AT KAVL...A NW WIND SHOULD PUSH SOME CLOUDS UP THE FR BROAD VALLEY WHICH COULD RESULT IN AN MVFR CEILING FOR SEVERAL HOURS THROUGH MID MORNING. THIS SHOULD IMPROVE WITH SOME HEATING DURING MIDDAY. OTHERWISE...A VFR FCST. OUTLOOK...SOME RESTRICTIONS IN LOW CLOUDS AND FOG WILL BE POSSIBLE MONDAY MORNING...BUT THIS IS NOT LIKELY. HIGH PRESSURE SHOULD KEEP VFR CONDITIONS ACROSS THE AREA MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ANOTHER FRONT SHOULD MOVE THROUGH FROM THE NW WEDNESDAY NIGHT OR THURSDAY BUT LITTLE IN THE WAY OF RESTRICTIONS. AN EXPERIMENTAL AVIATION FORECAST CONSISTENCY TABLE SHOWING THE PERCENTAGE OF GUIDANCE MEMBERS AGREEING WITH THE SCHEDULED ISSUANCE CATEGORY IS AVAILABLE AT FOLLOWING LINK (USE LOWER CASE)... WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GSP/AVIATION/TABLES.HTM && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. NC...NONE. SC...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...JPT NEAR TERM...PM SHORT TERM...JPT LONG TERM...JPT AVIATION...PM
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 819 PM EDT SAT MAR 24 2012 NCZ033-035>037-048>053-056>059-062>065-068>072-082-501>510-260030- 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- 819 PM EDT SAT MAR 24 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA AND WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE MUCH OF THE NIGHT OVER WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA...PARTICULARLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. SMALL HAIL AND OCCASIONAL CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT FROM STORMS OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE. GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-SCZ001>014-019-260030- RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-OCONEE MOUNTAINS- PICKENS MOUNTAINS-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS-GREATER OCONEE- GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG-CHEROKEE-YORK- ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- 819 PM EDT SAT MAR 24 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1035 PM EDT SAT MAR 24 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0505 PM HAIL 4 N SALISBURY 35.72N 80.48W
03/24/2012 E0.75 INCH ROWAN NC TRAINED SPOTTER
HAIL COVERED THE GROUND.
&&
MCAVOYSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
245 AM EDT SUN MAR 25 2012
NCZ036-056-069-250730-
CATAWBA-IREDELL-LINCOLN-
245 AM EDT SUN MAR 25 2012
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT EASTERN LINCOLN...SOUTHEASTERN
CATAWBA AND SOUTHERN IREDELL COUNTIES THROUGH 330 AM EDT...
AT 242 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR TERRELL...OR 14 MILES SOUTHEAST OF NEWTON...
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.
PEOPLE IN EASTERN LINCOLN...SOUTHEASTERN CATAWBA AND SOUTHERN IREDELL
COUNTIES...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
LAKE NORMAN...DENVER...TERRELL AND TROUTMAN...
SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER SITUATION CLOSELY. LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE
WARNINGS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION SHOULD SEVERE
WEATHER THREATEN.
SMALL HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS OF 30 TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM.
FREQUENT LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. BOATERS ON LAKE
NORMAN SHOULD GET OFF THE LAKE AND FIND SHELTER ON SHORE IF
POSSIBLE. WHEN INDOORS...STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS AND AVOID
USING TELEPHONES UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY.
LAT...LON 3565 8076 3551 8091 3549 8095 3548 8095
3546 8096 3542 8103 3558 8112 3586 8103
MOOREThe Greer radar (KGSP), 145 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:19 UTC.
6 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail up to the size of golf balls covered the ground at Perth Rd and Normandy Rd.
Hail up to quarter size covered the ground. Hail drifts were more than a foot deep in some areas.
Hail up to golf ball size accumulated up to 8 inches in some areas. The NC DOT was dispatched to plow hail covered roads in the northwest part of the County from Mt Ulla to Woodleaf.
County comms reported hail up to penny size in the Woodleaf area. The slow movement of the storm resulted in a long period of hail, causing significant accumulations and resulting in severe roof damage to several homes.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, March 2012
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: 372010, 372017, 372030, 372034, 372039, 372040.