Flash Flooding and Hail in Virginia, May 26, 2001

Name: Flash Flooding and Hail in Virginia, May 26, 2001
Start: 2001-05-26T16:00
End: 2001-05-26T23:00
Location: Virginia

May 26, 2001 · NWS LWX · 9 events in 5 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $9,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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.

An area of thunderstorms formed over the northern Shenandoah Valley during the evening of the 26th. This area of storms produced very heavy rainfall, dangerous lightning, and periodic bursts of hail as it remained nearly stationary over the area between 5 and 8 PM EDT. Up to 3 inches of rain fell across the area in less than 4 hours. In Shenandoah County, 2.60 inches of rain fell in Mount Olive in two hours. Route 623 and 653 were closed by high water. In Strasburg, Back Road was closed when a creek overflowed onto the roadway. Roads were also closed by flooding in Woodstock. In Rappahannock County, Route 522 and 635 near Flint Hill and Huntley were closed by high water. A total of 2.65 inches a rain was reported at Massie's Corner. In Page County, a lightning strike started a structure fire in Luray.In Frederick County, heavy rain falling at a rate of up to 2.5 inches an hour caused flooding across the western and central portions of the county. At least 10 roads were closed by high water from rising creeks and streams. Water and debris covered Route 522 after Issac Run overflowed north of Winchester. West of Winchester on Route 50, Hogue Creek overflowed onto Route 50 and forced the closure of 2 of the 4 lanes of traffic. Near Stevenson, Interstate 81 was flooded at mile marker 320 and all southbound lanes had to be closed for an hour. A tractor trailer crossing this section of roadway hydroplaned off the road. Other roads closed by high water included North Hayfield Road, Northwestern Pike, North Mountain Road, and Ebenezeer Road. Basements were flooded in Winchester. Tavenner Run overflowed its banks in Gainesboro and destroyed a small private access bridge, an above ground pool, and a fiberglass fishing boat. Pieces of the boat were found in the creek after the water subsided. Saturated soil allowed a tree in Cross Junction to fall across a road. Enough hail fell to turn the ground white in Stevenson, Cross Junction, Gainesboro, and Winchester. Drifts of hail up to 4 inches deep could still be found in Gainesboro the next morning.

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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 26, 1:16 PM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 26, 1:16 PM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
216 PM EDT SAT MAY 26 2001

KLWX 88D OTS DUE TO FAILED PART. PART ON ORDER AND SHUD ARRIVE THIS
EVENING.

ALL THREE MDLS HV SIMILAR SOLNS THIS FCST PD.

AXIS OF H5 S/W WHICH WAS PROVIDING LIFT TO SHRAS/TSRAS OVR ERN ZONES
THIS AFTN PROGGED TO BE OVR CNTRL FA BY 00Z TNGT AND NE OF THE FA BY
06Z. ASSOCD RH WL BE OVR NE PTN OF FA BY 00Z THEN ATMOS DRIES OUT A
BIT OVERNGT. WL CONT LIKELY POPS FOR THE EVE OVR ERN FA. OTHERWISE
SKIES SHUD BE PC.

HVIEST PCPN HAS NOT BEEN OVR THE MD ZONES W/LOWEST FFG SO NO NEED
FOR FFA YET. WL CONT TO MONITOR.

DWPTS IN U50S AND L60S WL KEEP TEMPS FM FALLING MUCH TNGT. THUS
PREFER MAV TEMPS OVR LOWER FWC TEMPS.

ON SUN...A FAIRLY STG VORT LOBE PROGGED TO PIVOT ARND GRT LAKES/OH
VLLY UPR LOW INTO THE WRN ZONES. AREA OF HI RH AND DECENT UVV
PROGGED TO ACCOMPANY THIS FEATURE AS IT ROTATES THRU THE NW PART OF
THE FA. H85 WNDS WL INCR TO 25-30 KT. MDLS ALSO HV A SFC TROF MOVG E
THRU FA DUR THE AFTN. THESE FACTORS SUPPORT THE FWC/MAV CHC POPS.
PCPN WL MAINLY BE CONFINED TO THE AFTN. HIEST PROB WL BE IN NW.

WL GO W/COMPROMISE BETW FWC/MAV FOR TEMPS SUN.

SFC BDRY WL BE APPCHG ERN ZONES SUN EVE SO WL CONT CHC POPS THERE.
WL OTHERWISE HV PC FOR SUN NIGHT.

UPR LOW PROGGED TO SHIFT NE AND OPEN UP ON MON. H85 FLOW WL BE
WESTERLY AND AMS WL CONT TO DRY OUT. WL HV P/S OR M/S.

GUID TEMPS SUN NIGHT AND MON LUK RSNBL.

IN THE EXTENDED PD...OLD MRF AND 12Z AVN BOTH HAD STG VORT PIVOTING
THRU THE RGN ON WED BUT RH WAS LIMITED. WL GO MSTLY CLDY INSTEAD OF
PC TO ACCT FOR THIS...OTRW XTENDED PD LUKS QUIET AND REFLECTS CURR
FCST.

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...NONE.

ARTHUR

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 26, 10:50 AM EST, 5 hours 10 minutes before

DCZ001-MDZ003>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ025>031-036>042-050>057-
WVZ050>053-055-270300-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
1150 AM EDT SAT MAY 26 2001

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING OVER EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA
PANHANDLE...ALL OF MARYLAND...THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND NORTHERN
VIRGINIA.

AN UPPER ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCE WILL ACT UPON A MOIST AND UNSTABLE
AIRMASS CAUSING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE AREA THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH AND HAIL LARGER THAN DIMES. THERE IS ALSO THE POSSIBILITY OF AN
ISOLATED TORNADO.

HEAVY RAIN WILL ACCOMPANY THE THUNDERSTORMS. ONE TO TWO INCHES OF
RAINFALL AN HOUR WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH SOME OF THE STORMS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES.

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/ER/LWX

ARTHUR

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood, 3 hail, 2 lightning, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Winchester (C)

When: May 26, 4:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Winchester (C) County, Winchester
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.186, -78.163 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Rappahannock

When: May 26, 5:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Rappahannock County, Countywide
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 38.685, -78.159 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Shenandoah

When: May 26, 5:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where: Shenandoah County, Countywide
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 39.133, -78.167

Flash Flood, Frederick

When: May 26, 5:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Frederick County, Countywide
Property damage: $8,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 39.317, -78.300

Hail, Winchester (C)

When: May 26, 6:55 PM EST
Where: Winchester (C) County, Winchester
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.200, -78.167

Nickel sized hail was reported.

Lightning, Frederick

When: May 26, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Frederick County, White Hall
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 39.205, -78.263 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning started hay bales on fire 10 miles north of Winchester.

Hail, Frederick

When: May 26, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Frederick County, Cross Jct
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.205, -78.263 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Nickel sized hail fell.

Hail, Frederick

When: May 26, 7:25 PM EST
Where: Frederick County, 5 mi SW of Clear Brook
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.205, -78.263 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Quarter sized hail accumulated up to 2 inches just northeast of Winchester.

Lightning, Page

When: May 26, 8:08 PM EST
Where: Page County, Luray
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.620, -78.484 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning started a structure fire.

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Virginia in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5249163, 5249160, 5249161, 5249162, 5249164, 5247945, 5249165, 5247946, 5247947.