Six to eight inches of hail fell in a five-mile area between Mount Ulla and Woodleaf early Sunday morning, making some of the local roads impassable, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The hail drifts against buildings measured up to 4.5 feet deep in some places. As you will see the photos, the hail looks like snow.
After assessing the situation at 4 a.m. Sunday, NCDOT sent maintenance crews out in a motor grader and a dump truck equipped with a plow to push the accumulated hail off the pavement. They worked for six hours to clear the roads, so motorists could safely reach their destinations. As of this morning, there was still some hail in the grass on the sides of the roads.
This is certainly a rare weather event for the area. DOT crews say they have never seen anything like it.
The pictures are posted on the NCDOT Flickr page, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncdot/sets/72157629308831512/.