Flash Flooding and Hail in North Carolina, July 3, 2019

Name: Flash Flooding and Hail in North Carolina, July 3, 2019
Start: 2019-07-03T12:01
End: 2019-07-03T15:00
Location: North Carolina

July 3, 2019 · NWS ILM · 6 events in 2 counties and zones

Strong instability, combined with low pressure and a thermal trough, produced a variety of severe weather over southeast North Carolina.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $26,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS ILM wrote it up.

Strong instability, combined with low pressure and a thermal trough, produced a variety of severe weather over southeast North Carolina.

What forecasters said that day

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 Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 3, 9:24 AM EST, 2 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 3, 9:24 AM EST, 2 hours 37 minutes before

<!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, Jul 3, 11:14 AM EST, 47 minutes before

<!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>

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 3, 11:34 AM EST, 27 minutes before

<!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>

The radar

The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood, 2 lightning, 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Brunswick

When: July 3, 12:01 PM EST to 12:03 PM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 1.34 mi ENE of Lanvale
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 34.210, -78.030

Quarter size hail was reported in Leland.

Thunderstorm Wind, New Hanover

When: July 3, 12:09 PM EST to 12:11 PM EST
Where: New Hanover County, 1.19 mi WSW of East Wilmington
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 34.215, -77.900

A large tree was blown down at the 3900 block of Peachtree Ave.

Flash Flood, New Hanover

When: July 3, 12:50 PM EST to 2:30 PM EST
Where: New Hanover County, 1.14 mi W of Wilmington to 1.15 mi W of Wilmington
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 34.230, -77.950

Water flowing two feet deep on Water St and Queen St.

Lightning, Brunswick

When: July 3, 12:55 PM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 1.5 mi SSE of Lanvale
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 34.180, -78.040

Lightning damaged a home on Pullen Dr in Leland.

Lightning, Brunswick

When: July 3, 12:55 PM EST
Where: Brunswick County, 0.69 mi S of Eliah
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 34.220, -78.050

Lightning started a fire at a home on Lapham Dr in Leland.

Flash Flood, New Hanover

When: July 3, 1:30 PM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: New Hanover County, Wilmington to 0.13 mi WSW of Wilmington
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Social Media
Coordinates: 34.230, -77.930

Water was up to the hoods of cars at the intersection of Castle and 14th Street.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Carolina in 2019 Every state in 2019 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, July 2019

Sources

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: 845846, 845839, 845840, 845841, 845842, 845843.