Scattered thunderstorms developed near the Blue Ridge during the afternoon and moved slowly east some of the storms produced heavy rainfall, brief damaging winds, and intense lightning, with a fatality linked to one lightning strike at the entrance to Mount Mitchell State Park.
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.
Scattered thunderstorms developed near the Blue Ridge during the afternoon and moved slowly east some of the storms produced heavy rainfall, brief damaging winds, and intense lightning, with a fatality linked to one lightning strike at the entrance to Mount Mitchell State Park.
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 16, 9:37 AM EST, 2 hours 23 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 531 AM EDT SAT JUL 16 2016 GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033-035>037-048>053-056>059-062>065- 068>072-082-501>510-SCZ001>014-019-170945- 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- 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-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- 531 AM EDT SAT JUL 16 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TODAY...MAINLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FREQUENT CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...AND GUSTY WINDS. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS BEING THE PRIMARY THREAT. ANY HAIL PRODUCED WILL MAINLY BE LESS THAN QUARTER SIZED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. ..SUNDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ..MONDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ..TUESDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ..WEDNESDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ..THURSDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ..FRIDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO FORWARD ANY REPORTS OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...TORNADOES OR FLASH FLOODING TO OUR OFFICE.
The Greer radar (KGSP), 94 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:02 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 lightning, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Newspaper reported a motorcyclist was killed after being struck by lightning at the intersection of Highway 128 and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Media reported two trees blown down along I-40 in the Old Fort area.
Media reported up to penny size hail in the Chesterfield community.
Media reported a tree blown down along Highway 221 in the Glenwood area and additional trees blown down on Polly Spout Rd closer to the Rutherford County line.
Media and HAM Radio operators reported multiple trees blown down throughout the Hickory area, including on Highway 127 and 2nd Ave.
Various sources reported urban flooding developed along Highway 70 in southeast Hickory after more than 2 inches of rain fell in about an hour. The parking lot of Valley Hills Mall had more than a foot of standing water, while an intersection on Highway 70 near the mall was briefly closed. The Hickory Airport measured 2.35 inches of rain in just under an hour.
Media reported nickel size hail in the Hickory area.
Public reported (via Social Media) large tree limbs blown down in the Newton area. Media reported trees and power lines down on Sigmon Dairy Rd southwest of Newton.
County comms reported many trees blown down across the county, particularly in Shelby and vicinity.
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, Yancey | 2016-07-16 | 54 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, July 2016
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 651827, 651828, 651847, 651830, 651843, 651851, 651848, 651845, 651846.