Virginia, 2001

Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 15, 2001

May 15, 2001 · NWS RNK · 4 events in 3 counties and zones

Thunderstorm winds downed a tree in Boones Mill.

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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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 evening of the 15th produced hail up to golfball size and damaging winds.Thunderstorm winds downed a tree in Boones Mill.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 15, 6:30 PM EST, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 6:30 PM EST, 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
730 PM EDT TUE MAY 15 2001

UPDATE COMING SOON...AS CONVECTION CONTINUES TRAINING ALONG FNTLY
BOUNDARY AND JUST ON THE EAST SIDE OF IT. LATEST RUC SHIFTS THIS
LINE SLIGHTLY SW OVER TIME THIS EVENING...BUT SHOULD SEE DISAPPATION
BY MIDNIGHT. WILL GO LIKELY POPS FOR PARTS OF THE AREA.

.RNK...
NC...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

WHP

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 33 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:56 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Roanoke

When
May 15, 6:55 PM EST
Where
Roanoke County, Cave Spg
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.233, -80.017

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When
May 15, 7:00 PM EST
Where
Franklin County, Boones Mill
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
37.117, -79.967

Hail, Henry

When
May 15, 7:42 PM EST
Where
Henry County, Axton
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
36.667, -79.717

Hail, Henry

When
May 15, 8:00 PM EST
Where
Henry County, Axton
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
36.667, -79.717

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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

More

Every storm in Virginia in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, May 2001

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: 5243366, 5243367, 5243369, 5243368.