A hail of a day: Dozens of hail reports across Charlotte area Thursday

SHELBY, N.C. — A severe weather outbreak on Thursday led to dozens of hail reports across the Charlotte area, with some areas seeing up to nearly 2-inch hail during the storms. 

The first severe thunderstorm warning was issued shortly after 4 p.m. It wasn’t long before hail reports followed in the foothills and areas west of Charlotte. Multiple warnings were labeled “considerable,” which is when hail can reach the size of golf balls or the size of limes (approximately 2 inches). 

Not everyone saw hail, but those who did may be calling their insurance companies. There were 33 official hail reports across North Carolina and South Carolina, with most falling west of I-77. The event lined up with the Storm Prediction Center’s significant hail threat, which targeted areas west of Charlotte. 

Hail size is compared to everyday objects and here are the largest hailstones that were reported.

Hail is not an uncommon occurrence in the Carolinas, but widespread hail reports like this are not a regular thing. Since 1950, about 30% of large hailstones reported to the National Weather Service fell in May, which is the heart of hail season for the Carolinas. 

Hail is most common when there is a single-cell thunderstorm. When multiple thunderstorms gather together, the environment is more conducive for damaging winds. Many of these storms that produced the largest hail were supercells. The same storm that caused the $5 million in damage in Rock Hill last April. These storms rotate and nearly 100 percent of the time produce hail and 30 percent can produce a tornado.

One more fact: The largest hail ever reported in the Carolinas was 4.5 inches in diameter. Also known as grapefruit size. This hail size has actually been recorded 17 times in the Carolinas including close to home in Burke, Catawba, Gaston and Rowan counties. 

Contact Chris Mulcahy at cmulcahy@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.

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