Hail, Montgomery
- When
- May 16, 4:15 PM EST to 4:20 PM EST
- Where
- Montgomery County, 1 mi N of Christiansburg
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.150, -80.420
Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 16, 1998
A light strike started a fire which damaged a home two miles northwest of Christiansburg.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
- $150,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 31
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.
Severe thunderstorms during the evening hours on the 16th produced hail up to baseball size, damaging winds, and damaging lightning.Thunderstorm winds knocked trees down on route 60 about 1 miles east of Amherst.Hail up to baseball size stripped leaves off of trees four miles west of Big Island.A light strike started a fire which damaged a home two miles northwest of Christiansburg.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
29 hail, 1 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning, Montgomery
- When
- May 16, 4:20 PM EST
- Where
- Montgomery County, 2 mi NW of Christiansburg
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Coordinates
- 37.174, -80.387 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Hail, Salem
- When
- May 16, 5:01 PM EST to 5:10 PM EST
- Where
- Salem County, Salem
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 37.300, -80.070
Hail, Montgomery
- When
- May 16, 5:05 PM EST to 5:07 PM EST
- Where
- Montgomery County, 1 mi W of Pilot
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.050, -80.380
Hail, Roanoke (C)
- When
- May 16, 5:05 PM EST
- Where
- Roanoke (C) County, Roanoke
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.270, -79.950
Hail, Floyd
- When
- May 16, 5:10 PM EST
- Where
- Floyd County, 6 mi NW of Floyd
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.980, -80.400
Hail, Roanoke (C)
- When
- May 16, 5:11 PM EST
- Where
- Roanoke (C) County, 5 mi SW of Roanoke
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $70,000
- Coordinates
- 37.220, -80.020
Hail, Roanoke
- When
- May 16, 5:20 PM EST
- Where
- Roanoke County, Hollins
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.830, -79.920
Hail, Salem
- When
- May 16, 5:20 PM EST
- Where
- Salem County, Salem
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.300, -80.070
Hail, Roanoke
- When
- May 16, 5:26 PM EST
- Where
- Roanoke County, Cave Spg
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.230, -80.020
Hail, Bedford
- When
- May 16, 5:30 PM EST
- Where
- Bedford County, Goodview
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.220, -79.720
Hail, Franklin
- When
- May 16, 5:45 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin County, Boones Mill
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.120, -79.970
Hail, Patrick
- When
- May 16, 5:50 PM EST to 5:55 PM EST
- Where
- Patrick County, Stuart
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.630, -80.280
Hail, Franklin
- When
- May 16, 6:27 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin County, 2 mi S of Boones Mill
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.080, -79.970
Hail, Roanoke (C)
- When
- May 16, 6:28 PM EST
- Where
- Roanoke (C) County, Roanoke
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.270, -79.950
Hail, Patrick
- When
- May 16, 6:40 PM EST
- Where
- Patrick County, 2 mi SE of Claudville
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.630, -80.320
Hail, Roanoke
- When
- May 16, 6:45 PM EST
- Where
- Roanoke County, Bonsack to 1 mi of Bonsack
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.300, -79.880
Hail, Franklin
- When
- May 16, 7:00 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin County, Ferrum
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.920, -80.020
Hail, Henry
- When
- May 16, 7:10 PM EST
- Where
- Henry County, Sanville
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.720, -80.070
Hail, Rockbridge
- When
- May 16, 7:30 PM EST
- Where
- Rockbridge County, Fairfield
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.880, -79.300
Hail, Buena Vista (C)
- When
- May 16, 7:30 PM EST
- Where
- Buena Vista (C) County, Buena Vista
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.730, -79.370
Hail, Patrick
- When
- May 16, 7:40 PM EST
- Where
- Patrick County, 4 mi SE of Dodson
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.800, -80.070
Hail, Pittsylvania
- When
- May 16, 7:45 PM EST
- Where
- Pittsylvania County, 8 mi W of Chatham
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.820, -79.550
Hail, Patrick
- When
- May 16, 8:00 PM EST
- Where
- Patrick County, Critz
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.630, -80.150
Hail, Bedford
- When
- May 16, 8:00 PM EST to 8:10 PM EST
- Where
- Bedford County, 4 mi W of Big Is
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.530, -79.430
Hail, Franklin
- When
- May 16, 8:15 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin County, Penhook
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.980, -79.630
Hail, Henry
- When
- May 16, 8:40 PM EST
- Where
- Henry County, 4 mi N of Sanville
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.770, -80.070
Hail, Pittsylvania
- When
- May 16, 9:00 PM EST
- Where
- Pittsylvania County, Gretna
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.950, -79.370
Hail, Amherst
- When
- May 16, 9:05 PM EST
- Where
- Amherst County, Monroe
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.500, -79.130
Thunderstorm Wind, Amherst
- When
- May 16, 9:15 PM EST
- Where
- Amherst County, 1 mi E of Amherst
- Coordinates
- 37.580, -79.030
Hail, Campbell
- When
- May 16, 9:25 PM EST
- Where
- Campbell County, Evington
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.230, -79.280
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
- 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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 16, 1998
- Flooding in Iowa, May 16 to 18, 1998
- High Wind in Alaska, May 16 to 19, 1998
- Lightning Strike in West Virginia, May 16, 1998
- Hail in West Virginia, May 16, 1998
- Hail in Idaho, May 16, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Utah, May 16, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, May 16, 1998
- Tornado in California, May 16, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Idaho, May 16, 1998
- Hail in Maryland, May 16, 1998
- Hail in Virginia, May 16, 1998
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, 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: 5645957, 5646061, 5645962, 5645958, 5645964, 5645959, 5645963, 5645960, 5646060, 5645965, 5646059, 5646058, 5646046, 5645966, 5645967, 5646047, 5645961, 5646051, 5646057, 5646052, 5646053, 5646048, 5646054, 5646049, 5646050, 5646055, 5646056, 5645968, 5645969, 5645970, 5645971.