Hail in North Carolina, May 24, 1996

Name: Hail in North Carolina, May 24, 1996
Start: 1996-05-24T18:05
End: 1996-05-24T18:05
Location: North Carolina

May 24, 1996 · NWS RNK · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Golf ball size hail covered the ground 7 miles west-southwest of Wilkesboro.

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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 RNK wrote it up.

Thunderstorms during the late afternoon and early evening hours on the 24th produced hail up to golf ball size.Golf ball size hail covered the ground 7 miles west-southwest of Wilkesboro. Hail up to 1.5 inches in diameter damaged vehicles and crops in Sparta

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 127 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:04 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Ashe

When: May 24, 6:05 PM EST
Where: Ashe County, Jefferson
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 36.420, -81.480

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Carolina in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, May 1996

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5555150.