Huge hailstorm causes extensive damage, could challenge records in the Carolinas

Severe thunderstorms crept across the Carolinas Saturday evening, dropping accumulating small hail and large hailstones that damaged homes and cars.

Extreme hail damage, not often seen in the Carolinas, was caused by the storms, including ripped-off siding, leaves stripped from trees and shredded vinyl fences. Sunday morning, piles of hail had not yet melted in some of the hardest-hit areas.

Hail spotter reports in the Carolinas on April 20, 2024.

The largest preliminary hail spotter reports were 4.5 inches in diameter at Lumberton, North Carolina, and 4.0 inches at Rock Hill, South Carolina. "This is a storm that will go down in history," one X user from Rock Hill said.

The National Weather Service also confirmed that a swath of 90-mph straight-line winds from the same storm caused damage from York, South Carolina, to Rock Hill and onto the Lancaster County line.

Corey Davis, from the North Carolina Climatologist's office, told AccuWeather that, if confirmed, the 4.5-inch report would tie the unofficial state record for the largest hailstone diameter.

"Based on the Storm Prediction Center (SPC)'s official records for North Carolina dating back to 1955, there have been seven other hailstones with a diameter of 4.5 inches, but none larger than that. The most recent of these occurred on May 24, 2000, in Burke County," Davis said.

The day after that record was set on May 25, 2000, storms from the same weather system moved into South Carolina, dropping another 4.5-inch hailstone in the town of Florence, causing over $6 million in damage. The state record was tied again on May 10, 2011, in several counties. Saturday's report of 4 inches would not challenge that South Carolina state record.

As residents surveyed the damage Saturday evening, hail fog, a rare phenomenon after heavy hail during warm temperatures, was also documented in Rock Hill.

Hail fog in Rock Hill, South Carolina on April 20, 2024. (James Thomas)