Thunderstorm / Photo: Johannes Plenio

Aug. 22. Yes it was a thunderstorm—a series of strong ones actually—which descended upon Lake Norman around 430 am and hung around until about 6:30 am.

What happened? Officials at the National Weather Service (NWS) in Greenville/Spartanburg said that a stalled frontal system over the southeast combined with middle-level disturbances generated a round of storms accompanied by very frequent and vivid lightning.

These conditions usually occur in the afternoon and evening. However, on occasion they will form in the morning hours, as it did Sunday morning.

The NWS did broadcast frequent warnings about the storms, reminding listeners that lightning can strike several miles from the storm center. “Remember, if you can see lightning, it could strike so take cover,” said the NWS warning. By 6:30am, the storm had fled to the northeast.

The fierce storms were the talk of the town all day Sunday, but the good news was that another round of thunderstorms forecast for Sunday evening never materialized.

Welcome to late summer in North Carolina.

—Dave Vieser