Hail, Stokes
- When
- April 26, 2:30 PM EST
- Where
- Stokes County, Sandy Ridge
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 36.500, -80.120
Hail in North Carolina, April 26, 2008
A cold front moved through the area bringing with it showers and thunderstorms. One of the storms produced large hail.
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
- 1
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.
A cold front moved through the area bringing with it showers and thunderstorms. One of the storms produced large hail.
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 Apr 26, 2:25 PM EST, 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 26, 2:25 PM EST, 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 325 PM EDT SAT APR 26 2008 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE REGION AND STALL ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA TONIGHT. THE FRONT WILL RETURN BACK NORTH AS A WARM FRONT SUNDAY AHEAD OF A MUCH STRONGER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM PASSING TO THE WEST SUNDAY NIGHT. A STRONG COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW WILL SWEEP EAST THROUGH THE AREA MONDAY FOLLOWED BY MUCH COOLER WEATHER FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM SUNDAY MORNING/... MODIFIED SOUNDINGS FROM RNK AND GSO SHOW SOME CAPES AROUND 1400 J/KG EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE THIS AFTERNOON WITH A DECENT DEW POINT DEPRESSION IN THE LOWEST 100 MB OF THE SOUNDING AND LARGE DCAPES OF 600-800 J/KG. CELLS STARTING TO DEVELOP AT 16Z IN NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND BETWEEN FVX AND CHO WHERE THE LATEST MSAS AND LAPS ANALYSIS IS SHOWING THE INSTABILITY IS AT A RELATIVE MINIMUM. HAVE SLIGHTLY ADJUSTED THE TIMING OF THE FRONT AND ASSOCIATED BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INTO TONIGHT BASED ON THE TIMING FROM THE RUC AND 12Z NAM. HAVE ALSO INCREASED CHANCE OF RAIN EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE BETWEEN 19-01Z SINCE THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH INSTABILITY AND EITHER A PREFRONTAL OUTFLOW BOUNDARY OR THE ACTUAL COLD FRONT WILL TRIGGER SOME LIFT AND BASED ON CURRENT RADAR TRENDS. AFTER 06Z TONIGHT ADDED SOME PATCHY VALLEY FOG IN THE WEST. STAYED CLOSE TO A BLEND OF MAV/MET GUIDANCE FOR LOWS TONIGHT...KEEPING IT MILDER IN THE EXTREME SOUTHERN COUNTY WARNING AREA WHERE THE CLOUDS MAY NOT CLEAR OUT. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... DRY WEATHER EARLY SUNDAY WILL BE SHORT LIVED AS NEXT STRONGER S/W RIDES UP THE RESIDUAL FRONT FROM THE SW AND GRADUALLY LIFTS THE FRONT BACK THRU THE REGION BY SUNDAY NIGHT. GUIDANCE DIFFS CONTINUE TO EXIST ON SUNDAY IN REGARDS TO NORTHEAST ADVANCE OF DEEP MOISTURE INTO THE WEAK RIDGE/WEDGE WITH THE GFS QUITE FAST/WET WHILE MOST OTHER MODELS INCLUDING THE ENSEMBLES SLOWER WITH BEST LIFT PINNED IN THE FAR SW. USED A BLEND OF NAM AND GFS FOR TIMING OF MOISTURE AND POPS. PLAYED HIGH TEMPERATURES CLOSE TO MAV VALUES. DEEPER RH FLUX WILL OCCUR SUNDAY NIGHT AS THE WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTH AND THEN MONDAY ALONG THE COLD FRONT WHEN PRECIP LOOKS AIDED BY UPPER DIFFLUENCE AND STRONG 85H JET. APPEARS GOOD POTENTIAL TO SEE A DECENT SWATH OF QPF MOVE THRU THE REGION MONDAY UNLESS SPEED MAX SEEN ACROSS THE SE STATES CAUSES CONVECTION TO CUT OFF NORTHWARD INFLOW. PLAYED QPF CLOSE TO HPC WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS ALONG SOUTHERN BLUE RIDGE. SHRA TAPER OFF BY LATE MONDAY BEHIND THE FRONT WITH INCREASING LOW LEVEL NW FLOW MAKING FOR DOWNSLOPE DRYING EAST AND UPSLOPE CLOUDS/-SHRA FAR WEST. AXIS OF 5H COLD POOL PIVOTING THRU LATER MONDAY NIGHT COMBO WITH COLD ADVECTION SUPPORTS A CHANGE TO ELEVATION SNOW SHOWERS LATE...KEPT MENTION MAINLY ABOVE 3K FEET IN THE GREENBRIER VALLEY. PLAYED TEMPERATURES CLOSE TO THE MAV GUD. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... 12Z GFS CAME CLOSER TO 06Z GFS RUN WHICH WAS CLOSER TO ECWMF AND PACK OF OTHER SOLUTIONS. FOR MEDIUM RANGE LEANED TOWARDS HPC WHICH WAS CLOSE TO 70/30 ECMWF AND ECMWF MEAN. SFC FRONT WILL BE WELL EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA BY TUESDAY MORNING...BUT NORTHWEST FLOW AND RESIDUAL MOISTURE WILL BRING SOME SCT PCPN TO FAVORED WESTERN UPSLOPE REGIONS AND LOW LEVEL TEMPS SUPPORT PRECIP FALLING AS SNOW IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF GREENBRIER COUNTY. AS HIGH SETTLES OVER THE REGION TUESDAY NIGHT...THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR FROST/FREEZE IN MOUNTAIN VALLEYS...UNLESS CLOUD COVER KEEP TEMPERATURES UP. FOR WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...MEAN TROF REMAINS OVER THE EASTERN USA AND WITH LARGE VORTEX SPINNING ACROSS SE CANADA/NEW ENGLAND...SFC BOUNDARY MAY SLIP INTO NRN VIRGINIA THURSDAY...THEN SOUTH ON FRIDAY. WARM FRONT LIFTS INTO NEW ENGLAND FRIDAY NIGHT...AS COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. THERE REMAINS A HIGH LEVEL OF UNCERTAINTY WITH FRONTAL POSITION. ADDED SOME CHCY POPS TO SATURDAY WITH COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH REGION. && .AVIATION /19Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE SINCE 16Z AND WILL BE CLOSE TO ROA FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE TAF. BASED ON RADAR TRENDS TRIED TO NARROW DOWN THE TIMING OF WHEN CONVECTION WOULD BE NEAR THE OTHER TAF SITES. MVFR FOG IS QUESTIONABLE AT DAN OVERNIGHT SINCE MID LEVEL CLOUDS MAY NOT COMPLETELY CLEAR OUT OF EXTREME SOUTHERN VIRGINIA. OTHERWISE...THERE WILL BE A BRIEF PERIOD OF VFR CONDITIONS BEHIND THE FRONT TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. A RENEWED THREAT OF SHRA/TSRA WITH A FRONTAL PASSAGE RETURNS WITH THE PASSAGE OF A MUCH STRONGER COLD FRONT MONDAY. UNSETTLED CONDITIONS INCLUDING LINGERING LOW CLOUDS MAY PERSIST IN THE MOUNTAINS TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY OTRW VFR IS EXPECTED TO RETURN INTO MIDWEEK. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...NONE. NC...NONE. WV...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...JH/PC/KK NEAR TERM...AMS/KK SHORT TERM...JH/KK LONG TERM...KK/PH AVIATION...AMS/JH
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 26, 3:12 AM EST, 11 hours 18 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 412 AM EDT SAT APR 26 2008 NCZ001-002-018-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-WVZ042>045-270815- ASHE-ALLEGHANY NC-WATAUGA-TAZEWELL-SMYTH-BLAND-GILES-WYTHE-PULASKI- MONTGOMERY-GRAYSON-CARROLL-FLOYD-CRAIG-ALLEGHANY VA-BATH-ROANOKE- BOTETOURT-ROCKBRIDGE-MERCER-SUMMERS-MONROE-GREENBRIER- 412 AM EDT SAT APR 26 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA...WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY COLD HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE AREA TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY NIGHT. THIS MAY RESULT IN FROST OR FREEZE CONDITIONS ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE VALLEYS BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. NCZ003>006-019-020-VAZ032>035-043>047-058-059-270815- SURRY-STOKES-ROCKINGHAM-CASWELL-WILKES-YADKIN-PATRICK-FRANKLIN- BEDFORD-AMHERST-HENRY-PITTSYLVANIA-CAMPBELL-APPOMATTOX-BUCKINGHAM- HALIFAX-CHARLOTTE- 412 AM EDT SAT APR 26 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA MONDAY AFTERNOON POSSIBLY BRINGING A FEW STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO PARTS OF THE AREA MAINLY EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 26, 1:09 PM EST, 1 hour 21 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 209 PM EDT SAT APR 26 2008 VAZ032-033-043-261915- PATRICK VA-FRANKLIN VA-HENRY VA- 209 PM EDT SAT APR 26 2008 AT 203 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES SOUTH OF WOOLWINE...OR ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTH OF BUFFALO RIDGE...MOVING EAST AT 29 MPH. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...CRITZ AT 215 PM EDT...SANVILLE...FAIRY STONE STATE PARK AT 225 PM EDT...PHILPOTT DAM...SPENCER AT 230 PM EDT...BASSETT AT 235 PM EDT...STANLEYTOWN...FIELDALE AT 240 PM EDT...COLLINSVILLE... AND VILLA HEIGHTS AT 245 PM EDT. EXPECT RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE QUARTER TO ONE HALF INCH DURING THE NEXT 30 MINUTES. WIND GUSTS WILL BE 30 TO 40 MPH WITH THIS STORM. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING SITUATION. AMS
Local storm report, Apr 26, 1:48 PM EST, 42 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
248 PM EDT SAT APR 26 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0242 PM HAIL 2 N EAGLE ROCK 37.66N 79.80W
04/26/2008 E0.75 INCH BOTETOURT VA PUBLIC
HAIL DIME TO PENNY SIZE COVERED GROUND
&&
AMSSpecial weather statement, Apr 26, 2:00 PM EST, 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 300 PM EDT SAT APR 26 2008 NCZ020-261915- YADKIN NC- 300 PM EDT SAT APR 26 2008 AT 259 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF YADKINVILLE...OR ABOUT 3 MILES WEST OF LONE HICKORY...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 14 MPH. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...LONE HICKORY AT 310 PM EDT...COURTNEY AT 315 PM EDT... EXPECT SMALL HAIL AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM.
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:29 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Rip Current in Florida, April 26, 2008
- Dust Devil in California, April 26, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, April 26 to 27, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Georgia, April 26, 2008
- Strong Wind in Wisconsin, April 26, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, April 26, 2008
- Hail in Texas, April 26 to 27, 2008
- Hail in Texas, April 26 to 27, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, April 26, 2008
- Flash Flood and Hail in North Carolina, April 26, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, April 26, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, April 26, 2008
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, April 2008
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 96594.