Tornado and Hail in Virginia, May 8, 2003

Name: Tornado and Hail in Virginia, May 8, 2003
Start: 2003-05-08T14:15
End: 2003-05-08T16:00
Location: Virginia

May 8, 2003 · NWS AKQ · 10 events in 5 counties and zones

5 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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 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 Wakefield, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 8, 10:48 AM EST, 3 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 8, 10:48 AM EST, 3 hours 27 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
1048 AM EST THU MAY 8 2003

LATEST RADAR COMPOSITES SHOW BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING THROUGH NRN VA. GIVEN CURRENT MOTION...AND LOOKING AT LATEST
MODEL RUNS...EXPECT THAT THIS BAND MAY CLIP OUR NE
COUNTIES...ESPECIALLY THE MD ERN SHORE...SO WILL NEED TO INTRODUCE
RAIN CHCS THIS AFTERNOON. WILL ALSO INTRODUCE 20 POP OVER A SLIGHTLY
LARGER AREA...AS CONVECTIVE INDICES...MODEL AND MODIFIED WAL
SOUNDINGS INDICATE 1000 TO 1500 J/KG OVER THE AREA...AND MODELS
INDICATING POTENTIAL FOR SFC CONVERGENCE...MAINLY OVER THE ERN HALF
OF THE CWA. ANY DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE ISOLATED HOWEVER...WITH
EXCEPTION OF THE MD ERN SHORE.

HAVE LOWERED TEMPS ACROSS THE ERN SHORE...WITH MORE CLOUDS THAN
EARLIER THOUGHT NRN SECTIONS...AND COOLING INFLUENCE OF BAY AND ATLC
KEEPING TEMPS OUT OF THE 80S SOUTH.

MARINE...NO HEADLINES...JUST MINOR ADJUSTMENTS.

.AKQ...
.MD...NONE.
.NC...NONE.
.VA...NONE.

REILLY

Hazardous weather outlook, May 8, 5:12 AM EST, 9 hours 3 minutes before

MDZ021>025-NCZ012>017-030>032-102-VAZ048-049-060>100-081600-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
530 AM EDT THU MAY 08 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN VIRGINIA...
NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA AND THE LOWER MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE
POSSIBLE ON FRIDAY.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

07

THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WATCHES...WARNINGS...ADVISORIES...AND
STATEMENTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN
WAKEFIELD, VA CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT THE FOLLOWING
(LOWER CASE): HTTP://WWW.ERH.NOAA.GOV/AKQ.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 8, 12:40 PM EST, 1 hour 35 minutes before

MDZ023-081800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
140 PM EDT THU MAY 8 2003

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER THE CHESAPEAKE BAY MOVING TOWARD
SOMERSET COUNTY...

AT 140 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF CRISFIELD...MOVING
SOUTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

THE THUNDERSTORM WILL REACH...
   LAWSONIA AND BYRDTOWN AROUND 155 PM

WIND GUSTS TO 45 MPH AND SMALL HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. A
WARNING MAY BE REQUIRED SHOULD THE STORM STRENGTHEN. STAY TUNED FOR
UPDATES.

REILLY
&&
LAT...LON 3818 7605 3804 7620 3775 7581 3791 7563

The radar

The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:17 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Middlesex

When: May 8, 2:15 PM EST
Where: Middlesex County, Jamaica
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.717, -76.700

Tornado, Essex

When: May 8, 2:15 PM EST
Where: Essex County, 1 mi E of Tappahannock
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.930, -76.850

Brief tornado (F0) touchdown. No damage reported.

Thunderstorm Wind, Middlesex

When: May 8, 2:20 PM EST
Where: Middlesex County, Saluda
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.600, -76.600

Trees down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Middlesex

When: May 8, 2:25 PM EST
Where: Middlesex County, Hartfield
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.550, -76.450

Truck blown off Route 33 into woods.

Hail, King and Queen

When: May 8, 2:30 PM EST
Where: King and Queen County, Shacklefords
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.550, -76.750

Hail, Gloucester

When: May 8, 2:49 PM EST
Where: Gloucester County, Gloucester
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 37.417, -76.533

Hail, Gloucester

When: May 8, 2:55 PM EST
Where: Gloucester County, 4 mi S of Gloucester
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.370, -76.533

Thunderstorm Wind, Gloucester

When: May 8, 3:00 PM EST
Where: Gloucester County, Ordinary
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.300, -76.533

Numerous trees uprooted.

Hail, Gloucester

When: May 8, 3:00 PM EST
Where: Gloucester County, Severn
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 37.283, -76.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Virginia Beach (C)

When: May 8, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Virginia Beach (C) County, Cape Henry
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
Reported by: COASTAL OBSERVING STATION
Coordinates: 36.917, -76.000

Wind gust of 62 knots (72 mph) measured at Cape Henry.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
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

Every storm in Virginia in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Virginia, 2003 Warnings in Virginia, May 2003

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: 5362340, 5362342, 5362334, 5362335, 5362333, 5362336, 5362337, 5362338, 5362339, 5362341.