The first half of May saw moderate drought conditions across Ashe and Surry counties. However, a drier second half of the month brought an increase to severe drought conditions into the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.
The first half of May saw moderate drought conditions across Ashe and Surry counties. However, a drier second half of the month brought an increase to severe drought conditions into the area.
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 26, 11:54 PM EST, 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 1254 AM EDT TUE MAY 27 2008 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN ANCHORED OFFSHORE TONIGHT. A WEAK TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL SLIDE EAST ACROSS THE REGION BY EARLY TUESDAY. A COLD FRONT SINKS SOUTH INTO THE AREA TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/... PRECIPITATION HAS PRETTY MUCHE ENDED ACROSS THE FA. WEAK SHORTWAVE PUSHING INTO CENTRAL KY IS HARDLY GENERATING ANY SHOWERS OUT THAT WAY...AND THE LATEST MODELS RUNS ARE NOT HANDLING THIS VERY WELL...AS THEY ARE ALL PRETTY MUCH SHOWING A SOLID LINE OF SHOWERS DEVELOPING AHEAD OF THIS WAVE. THE 12KM NAM SEEMS TO BE THE BEST ATTM...SO HAVE REDUCED POPS OVERNIGHT WITH LOW TO SLIGHT CHANCE WEST...NOTHING EAST. ALSO BUMPED OVERNIGHT LOWS A DEGREE OR TWO WARMER GIVEN SW FLOW AND CLOUD COVER. WARM/MOIST AIRMASS OVER THE AREA TUESDAY. AFTER A MOSTLY CLOUDY START...WE SHOULD SEE SOME SUN DURING TUESDAY AFTN AND SCTD SHOWERS AND STORMS SHOULD REDEVELOP ACROSS THE CWA. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... SLOW-MOVING FRONTAL BOUNDARY UNDER WSW FLOW ALOFT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION AS SEVERAL SHRTWVS TRAVERSE THE REGION PROVIDING STGR DEEP LYRD LIFT WITH SUPPORT FM A BROAD ENTRNC REGION TO THE UPR JET. PLENTY OF MSTR STILL IN PLACE WITH SURFACE TDS IN THE MID 60S...POSSIBLY UPPER 60S IN THE EAST AND PWS NR 1.50 INCHES. FRONT WILL MAKE ITS WAY SLOWLY ACROSS THE REGION IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF WED...BUT HIGHER POPS WILL REMAIN OVER THE SOUTHERN CWA THRU MOST OF THE DAY WED...ESP OVER THE SW MTNS OF NC WHERE MODEL LIFTED INDICES NR OR BLW 0 PERSIST MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON. 12Z GFS AND TO A LESSER EXTENT THE ECMWF LIFTS CLOUDS AND PRECIP BACK NORTH ACROSS AT LEAST THE SOUTHERN CWA ON THU ALTHOUGH NAM AND CMC ARE MUCH LESS AGGRESSIVE WITH THIS SCENARIO. INCREASED POPS AND SKY COVER SOMEWHAT TO REFLECT THE UNCERTAINTY IN THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION. TEMPS WILL BE BELOW CLIMO FOR HIGHS ESP IF CLOUDIER GFS/EC SOLUTIONS VERIFY. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... HEIGHTS BUILD BACK OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL US BY LATE IN THE WEEK WITH BROAD NWLY FLOW ALOFT OVER THE ERN CONUS. A STRONG SHORTWAVE AND SURFACE LOW FORECAST TO DEVELOP OVER THE WESTERN HIGH PLAINS AND PUSH NW TWD THE GREAT LAKES BY NEXT WEEKEND. RESULT FOR THE SOUTHERN APPLACHIANS/MID-ATLANTIC IS BASICALLY DRY WEATHER AND NR OR SLIGHTLY ABV NORMAL TEMPS INTO NEXT WEEKEND...WITH SAT POSSIBLY QUITE WARM AHEAD OF THE FRONT TRAILING DOWN FROM THE MIDWEST LOW. COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE REGION POSSIBLY LATE IN THE WEEKEND ALTHOUGH BUILDING HEIGHTS OVER THE ERN US WILL IMPEDE EASTWARD PROGRESS OF THIS FRONT AND TIMING WILL LIKELY CHANGE. && .AVIATION /06Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... SCTD CONVECTION MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHERN CWA EARLY THIS EVENING BUT IT SHOULD CLEAR LYH BY 00Z TUE TAF ISSUANCE. OUT FLOW BOUNDARY MOVING THROUGH THE TENNESSEE VALLEY WILL LIKELY MOVE INTO THE AREA (BLF-LWB) THIS EVENING. HOW FAR IT MAKES IT EAST OVERNIGHT IS A QUESTION. WILL KEEP ROA-DAN-LYH TAFS OPTIMISTIC AND VFR THROUGH THE FIRST 12 HOURS. IF THIS LINE DOES FALTER THIS EVENING...IT WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR CONVECTION BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS THE ATMOSPHERE DESTABILIZES. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SLOWLY THROUGH THE AREA FROM THE NORTH TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY CONTINUING THE THREAT OF SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE AREA ALONG WITH PERIODS OF MVFR...POSSIBLY IFR...CIGS AND VSBYS. DRYING CONDITIONS SET FOR THE END OF THE WORK WEEK WITH VALLEY FOG POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...NONE. NC...NONE. WV...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...JH/WP NEAR TERM...JH/WP SHORT TERM...PC LONG TERM...PC AVIATION...RCS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 556 AM EDT MON MAY 26 2008 NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059- WVZ042>045-271000- ASHE-ALLEGHANY NC-SURRY-STOKES-ROCKINGHAM-CASWELL-WATAUGA-WILKES- YADKIN-TAZEWELL-SMYTH-BLAND-GILES-WYTHE-PULASKI-MONTGOMERY-GRAYSON- CARROLL-FLOYD-CRAIG-ALLEGHANY VA-BATH-ROANOKE-BOTETOURT-ROCKBRIDGE- PATRICK-FRANKLIN-BEDFORD-AMHERST-HENRY-PITTSYLVANIA-CAMPBELL- APPOMATTOX-BUCKINGHAM-HALIFAX-CHARLOTTE-MERCER-SUMMERS-MONROE- GREENBRIER- 556 AM EDT MON MAY 26 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA...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...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe drought conditions (D2) crept back into the southern half of Ashe County by the end of May.
Severe drought conditions (D2) crept back into the extreme southern portion of Surry County by the end of May.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, May 2008
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: 99651, 99652.