Hail, Stafford
- When
- May 4, 8:25 PM EST to 8:35 PM EST
- Where
- Stafford County, Stafford to Falmouth
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Coordinates
- 38.420, -77.400
Hail in Virginia, May 4, 1996
A large rotating thunderstorm dropped large hail, and generated damaging winds, as it moved across Stafford Co. Golfball sized hail (1 and 3/4 inch) was reported in Stafford at around 2030EST.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $8,000
- 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 LWX wrote it up.
A large rotating thunderstorm dropped large hail, and generated damaging winds, as it moved across Stafford Co. Golfball sized hail (1 and 3/4 inch) was reported in Stafford at around 2030EST. Some cars were dented; the hail tore holes in vinyl siding of a few residences but did not penetrate the wood underneath. Several trees were also knocked down between Stafford and Falmouth.
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 62 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:27 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flash Flood in Ohio, May 4, 1996
- Hail in Florida, May 4, 1996
- Hail in Florida, May 4, 1996
- Tornado in Ohio, May 4, 1996
- Flash Flood in Ohio, May 4, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 4 to 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 4, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 4, 1996
- Hail in Missouri, May 4, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 4 to 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 4, 1996
- Tornado in Ohio, May 4, 1996
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5554934.