Hail, Berkeley
- When
- March 29, 12:20 PM EST
- Where
- Berkeley County, Hedgesville
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 39.550, -78.000
Hail in West Virginia, March 29, 1997
A line of strong to severe thunderstorms, associated with a vigorous upper-level disturbance acting on relatively unstable air, produced several instances of hail and wind gusts up to 50 mph in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia around noon. One cell dropped nickel-sized hail in Hedgesville; other cells dropped hail the size of peas and marbles.
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
- 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 LWX wrote it up.
A line of strong to severe thunderstorms, associated with a vigorous upper-level disturbance acting on relatively unstable air, produced several instances of hail and wind gusts up to 50 mph in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia around noon. One cell dropped nickel-sized hail in Hedgesville; other cells dropped hail the size of peas and marbles. No damage was reported.
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:21 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
- Tornadoes in Tennessee, March 29, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Florida, March 29, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, March 29, 1997
- Tornado in Georgia, March 29, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Maine, March 29, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, March 29, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, March 29 to 30, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, March 29, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Kentucky, March 29, 1997
- Tornado in Maryland, March 29, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Texas, March 29, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, March 29, 1997
More
Every storm in West Virginia in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, March 1997
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: 5596988.