Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 8, 1998

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 8, 1998
Start: 1998-05-08T00:00
End: 1998-05-08T12:25
Location: Georgia

May 8, 1998 · NWS FFC · 28 events in 20 counties and zones

23 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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: $108,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 28

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.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

23 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Carroll

When: May 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Carroll County, Roopville
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 33.450, -85.130

Thunderstorm winds knocked trees down and damaged house roofs.

Hail, Carroll

When: May 8, 12:10 AM EST
Where: Carroll County, Mt Zion
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 33.630, -85.180

Hail, Walton

When: May 8, 12:10 AM EST to 12:20 AM EST
Where: Walton County, Monroe to 4 mi of Mt Vernon
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 33.830, -83.720

Two public reports indicated nickel to quarter size hail fell in Walton county.

Hail, Fayette

When: May 8, 12:15 AM EST to 12:40 AM EST
Where: Fayette County, Tyrone to Starrs Mill
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 33.470, -84.600

Several public reports indicated dime to quarter size hail.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fulton

When: May 8, 12:15 AM EST
Where: Fulton County, Alpharetta
Property damage: $2,000
Coordinates: 34.070, -84.300

The public reported 2 large trees down on a house.

Hail, Carroll

When: May 8, 12:25 AM EST to 12:45 AM EST
Where: Carroll County, Carrollton to Whitesburg
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $2,000
Coordinates: 33.580, -85.080

The public reported dime size and golf ball size hail.

Thunderstorm Wind, Oconee

When: May 8, 12:30 AM EST to 12:36 AM EST
Where: Oconee County, Watkinsville to 3 mi SE of Watkinsville
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 33.920, -83.400

Newspaper reports said there were dozens of trees knocked down by a powerful thunderstorm. At least 3 homes, several vehicles, and other structures were damaged. Most of the damage occurred in the Oak Pointe subdivision off Flat Rock Road about 3 miles southeast of Watkinsville. One tree fell on a pickup truck then onto the roof of a home. A funnel cloud was observed in the same area. The Oconee county EMA reported trees and power lines down along highway 78 north of Watkinsville.

Hail, Coweta

When: May 8, 12:35 AM EST to 12:45 AM EST
Where: Coweta County, Newnan to 5 mi of Sharpsburg
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $2,000
Coordinates: 33.430, -84.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Coweta

When: May 8, 12:45 AM EST
Where: Coweta County, Sharpsburg
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 33.330, -84.650

Trees were knocked down and golf ball size hail was reported.

Hail, Fayette

When: May 8, 12:50 AM EST
Where: Fayette County, 5 mi NE of Peachtree City
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Coordinates: 33.470, -84.380

Hail, Fulton

When: May 8, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Fulton County, Palmetto
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 33.520, -84.670

The public reported quarter size hail.

Hail, Henry

When: May 8, 1:05 AM EST
Where: Henry County, Locust Grove
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Coordinates: 33.350, -84.120

Hail, Heard

When: May 8, 1:05 AM EST
Where: Heard County, 4 mi E of Franklin
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.280, -85.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Wilkes

When: May 8, 1:05 AM EST
Where: Wilkes County, Washington
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 33.730, -82.730

Thunderstorm winds ripped a canopy from the front of a downtown business. Other damage was noted at shopping center where utility buildings on display were destroyed.

Hail, Spalding

When: May 8, 1:10 AM EST
Where: Spalding County, 7 mi N of Griffin
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 33.350, -84.270

The public reported quarter size hail.

Hail, Butts

When: May 8, 1:10 AM EST
Where: Butts County, Jackson
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.300, -83.970

Hail, Jones

When: May 8, 2:35 AM EST
Where: Jones County, 5 mi SW of Gray
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 32.970, -83.600

Hail, Taylor

When: May 8, 4:55 AM EST
Where: Taylor County, 10 mi N of Butler
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Coordinates: 32.700, -84.230

Hail, Crawford

When: May 8, 5:15 AM EST
Where: Crawford County, 10 mi S of Roberta
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 32.570, -84.020

Hail, Peach

When: May 8, 5:22 AM EST to 5:40 AM EST
Where: Peach County, Ft Vly to Powersville
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $2,000
Coordinates: 32.550, -83.880

The public reported dime size hail in Fort Valley and Peach county 911 reported golfball size hail in Powerville.

Hail, Taylor

When: May 8, 5:25 AM EST
Where: Taylor County, Reynolds
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 32.570, -84.100

Hail, Houston

When: May 8, 5:27 AM EST to 5:40 AM EST
Where: Houston County, Centerville to Bonaire
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 32.620, -83.680

Numerous public reports indicated hail ranging from dime size to as large as golf balls in Centerville, Perry, Warner Robins, and Bonaire.

Hail, Houston

When: May 8, 5:51 AM EST
Where: Houston County, Perry
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 32.450, -83.730

Hail, Twiggs

When: May 8, 5:55 AM EST
Where: Twiggs County, Tarversville
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 32.530, -83.430

The public reported from pea to golf ball size hail at the intersection of highways 96 and 87.

Hail, Peach

When: May 8, 6:10 AM EST
Where: Peach County, Ft Vly
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 32.550, -83.880

A second storm produced golf ball size hail in Fort Valley.

Hail, Laurens

When: May 8, 6:25 AM EST to 6:30 AM EST
Where: Laurens County, Dublin
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 32.530, -82.900

Hail, Pulaski

When: May 8, 7:40 AM EST
Where: Pulaski County, Hawkinsville
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Coordinates: 32.280, -83.470

Pulaski county 911 received several reports of dime to nickel size hail in and around Hawkinsville.

Hail, Telfair

When: May 8, 12:25 PM EST
Where: Telfair County, Jacksonville
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 31.820, -82.980

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
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 Georgia in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Georgia, May 1998

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: 5646024, 5646025, 5646028, 5646027, 5646034, 5646026, 5646035, 5646029, 5646030, 5646031, 5646033, 5646032, 5646037, 5646153, 5646036, 5646038, 5646039, 5646040, 5646041, 5646042, 5646149, 5646043, 5646044, 5646045, 5646150, 5646151, 5646148, 5646152.