Hail, Henry
- When
- May 4, 1:00 PM EST
- Where
- Henry County, 3 mi NE of Collinsville
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.750, -79.870
Hail in Virginia, May 4, 1998
Nickel size hail covered the ground three and a half miles east northeast of Starkey and nine and a half miles northeast of Blacksburg. Dime size hail covered the ground five miles east southeast of Rural Retreat and in Catawba.
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
- 15
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 afternoon and the early evening hours on the 4th produced hail up to nickel size.Nickel size hail covered the ground three and a half miles east northeast of Starkey and nine and a half miles northeast of Blacksburg. Dime size hail covered the ground five miles east southeast of Rural Retreat and in Catawba.
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:58 UTC.
Event by event
15 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Wythe
- When
- May 4, 1:00 PM EST
- Where
- Wythe County, 5 mi ESE of Rural Retreat
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.870, -81.180
Hail, Charlotte
- When
- May 4, 1:40 PM EST
- Where
- Charlotte County, Red House
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.180, -78.800
Hail, Pulaski
- When
- May 4, 2:10 PM EST
- Where
- Pulaski County, Pulaski
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.050, -80.800
Hail, Buckingham
- When
- May 4, 2:35 PM EST
- Where
- Buckingham County, Sheppards
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.380, -78.480
Hail, Radford (C)
- When
- May 4, 2:46 PM EST
- Where
- Radford (C) County, Radford
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.130, -80.420
Hail, Montgomery
- When
- May 4, 3:45 PM EST
- Where
- Montgomery County, 10 mi NE of Blacksburg
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.330, -80.300
Hail, Roanoke
- When
- May 4, 4:15 PM EST to 4:20 PM EST
- Where
- Roanoke County, Catawba
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.380, -80.120
Hail, Roanoke
- When
- May 4, 4:25 PM EST
- Where
- Roanoke County, Catawba to 1 mi S of Catawba
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.380, -80.100
Hail, Roanoke
- When
- May 4, 5:12 PM EST
- Where
- Roanoke County, 3 mi E of Starkey
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.200, -79.950
Hail, Roanoke
- When
- May 4, 5:15 PM EST
- Where
- Roanoke County, 4 mi ENE of Starkey
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.220, -79.930
Hail, Roanoke (C)
- When
- May 4, 5:25 PM EST to 5:32 PM EST
- Where
- Roanoke (C) County, Roanoke
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.270, -79.950
Hail, Franklin
- When
- May 4, 5:41 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin County, 4 mi SE of Rocky Mt
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 36.970, -79.830
Hail, Bedford
- When
- May 4, 6:09 PM EST
- Where
- Bedford County, 1 mi ESE of Montvale
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.380, -79.720
Hail, Botetourt
- When
- May 4, 6:30 PM EST
- Where
- Botetourt County, 2 mi S of Buchanan
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 37.480, -79.680
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
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Flash Flood in Maryland, May 4, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Carolina, May 4 to 5, 1998
- Hail in Virginia, May 4, 1998
- Tornadoes and Hail in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Hail in South Carolina, May 4, 1998
- Hail in North Carolina, May 4, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Florida, May 4, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Georgia, May 4, 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: 5646352, 5646353, 5646354, 5646350, 5646351, 5646355, 5646343, 5646349, 5646356, 5646346, 5646348, 5646347, 5646345, 5646344, 5646342.