An upper level disturbance moving over Central North Carolina during the afternoon hours resulted in high shear in an already moist and unstable environment. The uncapped environment allowed several severe thunderstorms to develop, producing large hail and isolated damaging wind gusts.
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.
An upper level disturbance moving over Central North Carolina during the afternoon hours resulted in high shear in an already moist and unstable environment. The uncapped environment allowed several severe thunderstorms to develop, producing large hail and isolated damaging wind gusts.
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 May 3, 1:20 PM EST, 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 220 PM EDT TUE MAY 3 2016 .SYNOPSIS... LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE OFF THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC COAST EARLY TODAY. A SECONDARY WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE TRAILING COLD OVER NC THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...BEFORE MOVING SLOWLY TO THE COAST AND OFFSHORE LATE TONIGHT AND WED. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 1120 AM TUESDAY... THE MID LEVEL DISTURBANCE...RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF NC THIS MORNING...WILL CONTINUE TO LIFT OUT OF THE AREA THROUGH 16Z. ANOTHER UPPER WAVE AND IT'S ASSOCIATED DPVA...SEEN MOVING INTO THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS PER 13Z WATER VAPOR IMAGERY...WILL SLIDE OVER THE WESTERN PIEDMONT BY EARLY AFTERNOON...PROVIDING FORCING FOR STORM INITIATION. ANOTHER MID-LEVEL WAVE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE IN ON IT'S HEELS...FURTHER PROVIDING UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT TO SUSTAIN CONVECTION THROUGH THE EARLY OVERNIGHT HOURS. PRECIPITATION CHANCES: SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH WITH THIS MORNING'S UPPER DISTURBANCE SHOULD CONTINUE TO MOVE TO THE EAST THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE MORNING AND INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON. FOCUS THEN TURNS TO THE WESTERN PIEDMONT...WHERE CLEARING IS ALREADY OCCURRING AS OF 14Z AND IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AS WE EXPERIENCE SUBSIDENCE IN THE WAKE OF THIS MORNINGS WAVE. 14Z SPC MESO ANALYSIS ALREADY SHOWS 500J/KG OF CAPE MOVING INTO THE SW PIEDMONT...WITH HIGHER VALUES ADVECTING INTO THE CWA BY AFTERNOON...COURTESY OF LOW LEVEL SOUTHERLY FLOW ADVECTING MOISTURE NORTHWARD INTO THE CWA. CONVECTIVE INITIATION SHOULD OCCUR BY 16-18Z IN THE WESTERN PIEDMONT...AS DPVA BEGINS TO OVERSPREAD THE AREA FROM THE AFOREMENTIONED UPPER DISTURBANCE TO OUR SW. STORMS WILL QUICKLY BECOME WIDESPREAD IN THE LARGELY UNCAPPED ENVIRONMENT...POSSIBLY EVOLVING INTO A CONVECTIVE LINE OVER THE EASTERN 1/2 OF THE CWA BY LATE AFTERNOON. WITH WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT...CONVECTION WILL FIRST AFFECT THE WESTERN PIEDMONT AND TRIAD AFTER 16Z...THE CENTRAL PIEDMONT AND TRIANGLE AFTER 18Z AND THE EASTERN PIEDMONT AFTER 20Z. CONVECTION WILL LIKELY CONTINUE OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE EARLY OVERNIGHT...AS UPPER- SUPPORT REMAINS OVER THE AREA PROVIDING FORCING FOR CONVECTION. DESPITE A VERY MOIST ATMOSPHERE...PWATS OVER 1.5" EAST OF US-1...AND THE POTENTIAL FOR STORMS TO HAVE VERY HEAVY RAIN...STORM MOTIONS SUGGEST TRAINING IS UNLIKELY...AND WIDESPREAD FLASH FLOODING IS UNLIKELY. SEVERE THREAT: WITH SBCAPE VALUES EXCEEDING 1500J/KG...ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN CWA...STORMS WILL HAVE PLENTY OF ENERGY TO FEED OFF OF. SPEEDY FLOW ALOFT...ASSOCIATED WITH THE SERIES OF UPPER DISTURBANCES MOVING OVERHEAD...WILL RESULT IN DEEP LAYER SHEAR VALUES IN EXCESS OF 45KTS THIS AFTERNOON. THIS COMBINED WITH 0-3KM SRH VALUES APPROACHING 100M2/S2, SHOULD RESULT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FEW SUPERCELLS BY THE AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED...WITH THE UPPER SUPPORT OVERHEAD AND AN UNCAPPED ENVIRONMENT...STORM MODE MAY BECOME MESSY QUICKLY...WITH ALL STORM MODES POSSIBLE OVER THE CWA BY THIS AFTERNOON. REGARDLESS...THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL...500-700HPA LAPSE RATES ARE RATHER STEEP AND FREEZING LEVELS ARE ~9000FT...AND STRONG WINDS...DCAPE VALUES >800-1000J/KG. THE SEVERE THREAT MAY SHIFT AWAY FROM HAIL AND MORE TOWARD WIND BY LATE AFTERNOON...AS STORMS WILL LIKELY GROW UPSCALE INTO A CONVECTIVE LINE..WHICH AS SUGGESTED BY THE CAMS THIS MORNING...COULD CONTAIN BOWING SEGMENTS...ESPECIALLY OVER THE EASTERN CWA. THE TOR THREAT WILL REMAIN LOW THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO TONIGHT...MOSTLY DUE TO STRAIGHT-LINE HODOGRAPHS AND A LACK OF LOW LEVEL SHEAR/HELICITY. -SCR/WSS THE FRONTAL ZONE AND EMBEDDED WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE...AND ASSOCIATED DEEP MOISTURE AND SHOWERS...WILL MOVE GRADUALLY EAST OVERNIGHT... WITH JUST A LINGERING SLIGHT-LOW CHANCE OF SHOWERS EAST OF I-95 BY WED MORNING...AND DRYING ELSEWHERE. COOLER WITH LOWS IN THE MID- UPPER 50S. -26 && .SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 405 AM TUESDAY... A PAIR OF NOTABLE CURLS IN WATER VAPOR OVER OVER IOWA AND NEBRASKA THIS MORNING WILL ELONGATE AND MOVE EAST BENEATH A DEEPER TROUGH DEVELOPING FROM A WAVE DIVING SOUTH OUT OF CENTRAL CANADA. THIS LEAD WAVE WILL CROSS CENTRAL NC EARLY WEDNESDAY... AND IN RESPONSE A BROAD WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP OVER EASTERN NC WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. DESPITE THE AIRMASS CHANGE IN THE WAKE OF TODAYS COLD FRONT... SLIGHTLY ELEVATED DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 50S IN THE COASTAL PLAIN AND WEAK LOW LEVEL MASS CONVERGENCE BENEATH STRONG COOLING ALOFT AND 60M HEIGHT FALLS SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO KICK OFF SOME SHOWERS AND ISOLATED STORMS...MAINLY IN THE NORTHERN COASTAL PLAIN. THE FREEZING LEVEL WILL DROP TO AROUND 9000 FT...SO SOME SMALL HAIL CANT BE RULED OUT WITH WEAK DESTABILIZATION. HIGHS WILL BE INT HE LOW/MID 70S...WITH FURTHER COOLING BENEATH AN UPPER LOW THAT WILL SETTLE OVER THE CAROLINAS LATE WEEK. ANY CONVECTION SHOULD DIE OFF AS THE UPPER FORCING DEPARTS TO THE EAST AND NOCTURNAL COOLING SETS IN. HOWEVER...WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED CANADIAN SHORTWAVE DROPPING THROUGH THE MIDWEST... SOME ADDITIONAL SHOWERS MAY DROP SOUTH THROUGH VA EARLY THURSDAY. MAINLY INT HE LOWER 50S. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... AS OF 220 PM TUESDAY... A HIGHLY AMPLIFIED BUT RELATIVELY SHORT-LIVED OMEGA BLOCK WILL DEVELOP OVER THE EASTERN CONUS AS A STRONG SHORTWAVE OVER THE NORTHERN GREAT LAKES DIVES SOUTH THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY TO BOTTOM OUT OVER ATLANTIC COAST ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. INITIAL SURGE OF COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL BE EARLY THURSDAY...PRODUCING SHOWERS... ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER OF THE STATE... THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. HIGHS THURSDAY WILL TOP OUT IN THE MID 60S ACROSS THE NORTH TO AROUND 70 SOUTHEAST. LOWS WILL BOTTOM OUT IN THE LOW TO MID 40S THURSDAY NIGHT. THE CUTOFF LOW ROTATES AROUND AND BEGINS TO LIFT OUT OF THE UPPER TROF THURSDAY NIGHT AND SHOWERS WILL BE FEWER IN NUMBER AND FOCUSED ON THE NORTHEAST FRIDAY...AND ENDING IN THE FAR NORTHEAST BY SATURDAY MORNING. HIGHS FRIDAY WILL REMAIN WELL BELOW NORMAL...FROM MID 60S ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER TO VERY LOW 70S ACROSS THE SOUTH. A SECOND SHORTWAVE DIVING SOUTH IN THE AMPLIFIED NORTHWEST FLOW PUSHES A DRY AND WEAK FRONT BRIEFLY SOUTH OF THE AREA LATE SUNDAY. THE MAIN IMPACT FROM THIS SHORTWAVE...HOWEVER...WILL BE TO SHIFT THE OMEGA BLOCK EASTWARD...ALLOWING THE WEST RIDGE LOBE OF THE BLOCK TO EDGE EAST OVER THE AREA...WITH AN ACCOMPANYING WARMING TREND... EARLY NEXT WEEK. ALL TOLD...DRY WEATHER SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY WITH HIGHS WARMING FROM THE MID 70S SATURDAY TO LOWER 80S SUNDAY AND MONDAY...TO MOSTLY MID 80S TUESDAY. MORNING LOWS WILL FOLLOW THE TREND...FROM LOW 50S SATURDAY MORNING TO THE LOWER 60S BY TUESDAY MORNING. && .AVIATION /18Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... AS OF 145 PM TUESDAY... VARIABLE AVIATION CONDITIONS ACROSS CENTRAL NC...WAVERING BETWEEN VFR AND MVFR DUE TO CEILINGS...WILL PERSIST THROUGH MOST OF THE AFTERNOON...WITH A GENERAL TREND TOWARD VFR BY EVENING. AS THE ATMOSPHERE CONTINUES TO DESTABILIZE DUE TO AFTERNOON HEATING AND THE APPROACH OF AN MID LEVEL DISTURBANCE...SCATTERED-NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND A FEW STRONG/SEVERE STORMS WILL ERUPT BY MID AFTERNOON IN THE WESTERN PIEDMONT...SPREADING EAST BY 22Z-00Z. THE STRONGER STORMS WILL PRODUCE LARGE AND WIND GUSTS AROUND 50-55KTS. THE THREAT FOR STORMS WILL DECREASE AFTER 01Z THOUGH A FEW SHOWERS WILL PERSIST WELL INTO THE NIGHT. AVIATION CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN HIGHLY VARIABLE AS AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CAUSE PERIODS OF UNSETTLED WEATHER AND ATTENDANT SUB VFR CEILINGS THROUGH FRIDAY. VFR PARAMETERS ASSOCIATED WITH AN AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL RETURN TO CENTRAL NC FOR THE WEEKEND. && .RAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SYNOPSIS...26 NEAR TERM...SCR/WSS SHORT TERM...22 LONG TERM...MLM AVIATION...WSS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 257 PM EDT TUE MAY 3 2016 NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088-089-040930- 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- 257 PM EDT TUE MAY 3 2016 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 140 IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL 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. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS...INCLUDING SOME SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL UP TO TWO INCHES IN DIAMETER...ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST ACROSS CENTRAL NC THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
206 PM EDT TUE MAY 3 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0515 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 WNW GREENSBORO 36.09N 79.90W
05/02/2016 GUILFORD NC PUBLIC
SEVERAL TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN, FIVE OF WHICH
FELL ONTO AREA HOMES. QUARTER SIZE HAIL ALSO
COVERED THE GROUND.
&&
NWS RALEIGH NC
IRIS SYSTEMSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
300 PM EDT TUE MAY 3 2016
NCZ021-038-032000-
DAVIDSON NC-FORSYTH NC-
300 PM EDT TUE MAY 3 2016
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT PORTIONS OF NORTHERN DAVIDSON
AND SOUTHERN FORSYTH COUNTIES UNTIL 400 PM EDT...
AT 300 PM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER
HUNTSVILLE...OR 9 MILES SOUTHEAST OF YADKINVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 25
MPH.
HALF INCH HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS
STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
WINSTON-SALEM...LEXINGTON...THOMASVILLE...KERNERSVILLE...CLEMMONS...
BERMUDA RUN...HUNTSVILLE...LEWISVILLE...ARCADIA AND WELCOME.
THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO
STATIONS AND AVAILABLE TELEVISION STATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM EDT FOR
CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA.
LAT...LON 3611 8050 3612 8046 3614 8044 3615 8004
3573 8006 3588 8042 3589 8041 3589 8037
3596 8038 3599 8042 3601 8042 3606 8046
3604 8049 3606 8051 3609 8052
TIME...MOT...LOC 1900Z 287DEG 22KT 3605 8053
23The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 111 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:10 UTC.
14 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was blown down onto a bus near Clemmons, resulting in an injury.
Several trees were blown down along a swath from 2 miles southwest of High Point to near Jamestown.
Quarter sized hail was reported in Ansonville.
Hail up to the size of golf balls was reported along a swath from Apex to the Crossroads Shopping Center in Cary.
Quarter size hail fell along a swath from Ellerbe to near Hoffman.
Hail up to the size of quarters fell in Rockfish.
Hail up to one and a half inches in diameter fell along a swath from Flowers to Kenly.
Hail up to two inches in diameter fell near Lucama.
Hail up to the size of golf balls fell near Denton. Trees, power lines, and a telephone pole were also blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts.
Hail up to the size of golf balls fell approximately five miles east of New Hope.
A couple of trees were blown down along a swath from Memory Lane in Benson to Raleigh Road in Four Oaks. The roof over gas pumps was also blown over near the intersection of Keen Road and Highway 301.
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, May 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 635590, 635591, 635557, 635559, 635561, 635564, 635571, 635573, 635574, 635576, 635578, 635582, 635583, 635585, 635586, 635588, 635597.