A series of thunderstorms with heavy rain moved over northeast portions of Rockingham County during the evening of May 8th, into the morning of May 9th. These storms brought three to five inches of rain in several hours.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
A series of thunderstorms with heavy rain moved over northeast portions of Rockingham County during the evening of May 8th, into the morning of May 9th. These storms brought three to five inches of rain in several hours. This caused flash flooding along Cascade Creek, which inundated part of Route 770.
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 9, 3:41 AM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 441 AM EDT FRI MAY 9 2008 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA THIS MORNING. ANOTHER STRONG AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL TRACK ACROSS THE REGION SUNDAY BRINGING ANOTHER RAOUND OF SHOWERS OF THUNDERSTORMS. A TROUGH DEVELOPING IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES WILL PROVIDE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS NEXT WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... STRONG UPPER LOW IS MOVING ACROSS THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS EARLY THIS MORNING...WITH ITS ASSOCIATED SFC LOW MOVING ACROSS SOUTHERN WV. MOST OF THE HEAVIER SHOWERS/TSTMS ARE NEARLY EAST OF THE EASTERN CWA...SO WILL BE LOOKING TO CANCEL PARTS OR ALL OF THE TORNADO WATCH CURRENTLY IN AFFECT FOR PARTS OF THE NW PIEDMONT OF NC AND SOUTHSIDE VA. WILL ALSO BE CANCELLING THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE SAME REASON. MAIN CHANGE TO THE NEAR TERM FCST WAS TO CLEAR OUT THE PRECIP MUCH QUICKER THAN WHAT WE HAD GOING. LOOKS LIKE BY LATE MORNING/TOWARD NOON...ANY PRECIP THAT IS LEFT WILL BEMAINLY LIGHT SHOWERS IN THE NW UPSLOPE FLOW ACROSS SE WV. BECAUSE THE PRECIP IS MOVING OUT FASTER AND THERE WILL BE SOME SUN THIS AFTERNOON FOR MUCH OF THE AREA...I RAISED MAX TEMPS FOR ALL BUT SE WV ZONES. NEXT WEAK WAVE TO AFFECT THE AREA IS ALREADY OVER SW MO...SO ANY PRECIP WITH THAT FEATURE SHOULD MAINLY AFFECT THE AREA TONIGHT WITH HIGHEST POPS IN THE MTNS- SO I RAISED POPS TONIGHT. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... WITH THE WAVE PASSING BY SATURDAY MORNING...SOME SHOWERS SHOULD SURVIVE INTO THE MORNING. OTHERWISE...HAVE LOWERED POPS TO SLIGHT CHC IN THE JUST THE MTNS FOR THE AFT HOURS. BECAUSE OF MORE SUN EXPECTED AND ONLY WEAK COLD ADVECTION...I HAVE RAISED MAX TEMPS A FEW DEGREES. WILL BE ANOTHER CHC OF STRONG STORMS ON SUNDAY...WITH H3 JET STREAK TAKING AIM ON THE PIEDMONT...AND AREA OF LOW PRESSURE PASSING THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY. WEDGE WILL BE REMAINING FOR PART OF THE DAY IN THE EAST...WHICH SHOULD ALLOW FOR POTENT LLVL SHEAR AS OCCLUSION/WARM FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE SOUTH AND WEST. CONSIDERING THE POTENTIAL FOR HVY RAINS LEADING UP TO THIS EVENT...WATER PROBLEMS MAY DEVELOP WITH THE GROUND SATURATED. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... ACTIVE PATTERN TAKING SHAPE DURING THE LONG TERM...WITH RIDGE IN THE WEST AND TROUGH IN THE EAST. SHRTWVS EJECTING FROM ALEUTIAN LOW WILL BE DIRECTED INTO THE MIDWEST...ONLY AMPLIFYING THE EASTERN TROUGH FURTHER BY THURSDAY/FRIDAY. BASICALLY FOLLOWED THE ECMWF...ALTHOUGH THE GFS IS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THIS FAR OUT. && .AVIATION /09Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... STRONG TSTMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL WILL STILL BE AFFECTING DANVILLE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS...AND WILL BE COMING CLOSE TO LYH. FURTHER WEST...SHOWERS WILL STILL BE AFFECTING THOSE AIRPORTS AS THE SFC LOW CONTINUES TO TACK EASTWARD INTO WV. I EXPECT LOWERING CIGS ALL SITES OVERNIGHT IN THE LULL PERIOD AS THE TSTMS SHIFT EAST OF THE AREA AND BEFORE THE STRONGER WINDS ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE SFC LOW AFFECT THE AREA FRIDAY MORNING. I HAVE TAKEN ALL SITES TO LOW MVFR OR IFR CIGS. CIGS AND VSBYS WILL GRADUALLY IMPROVE BETWEEN DAYBREAK AND NOON FRIDAY AS WESTERLY WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT BEGIN THE DRYING PROCESS. BLF AND LWB WILL BE THE SLOWEST TO LIFT WITH THE UPSLOPE FLOW. A WARM FRONT WILL MOVE BACK NORTHWARD THROUGH THE AREA SATURDAY. THIS WILL LIKELY BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...ALONG WITH POSSIBLE MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS. FINALLY... ANOTHER STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION LATE SUNDAY. THIS WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...ALONG WITH POSSIBLE MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS. WINDS MAY BE STRONG AND GUSTY BEHIND THIS LOW PRESSURE LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. && .HYDROLOGY... HEAVY RAIN WILL HAVE EXITED THE CWA BY 500 AM. FLOODING WILL BE ONGOING IN PLACES FROM CONTINUED RUNOFF...BUT SINCE NO ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED...I WILL CANCEL THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT. THERE HAS BEEN SO MUCH RAIN ACROSS THE ENTIRE DAN RIVER BASIN THAT THERE IS LIABLE TO BE FLOODING ALONG THE DAN RIVER. THE RIVER IS STARTING LOW...SO THERE IS TIME TO WAIT FOR THE FORECAST FROM SERFC. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...NONE. NC...NONE. WV...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...JJ/KM NEAR TERM...JJ/PM SHORT TERM...JJ/KM LONG TERM...KM AVIATION...JJ/PM HYDROLOGY...
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 1137 AM EDT THU MAY 8 2008 VAZ007-010-011-018>020-WVZ042>045-091545- TAZEWELL-BLAND-GILES-CRAIG-ALLEGHANY VA-BATH-MERCER-SUMMERS-MONROE- GREENBRIER- 1137 AM EDT THU MAY 8 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA...WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO TONIGHT. CONDITIONS MAY BECOME FAVORABLE FOR A FEW OF THESE STORMS TO BE SEVERE. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS...WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL...ARE POSSIBLE ALONG A STRONG COLD FRONT THAT WILL CROSS THE MID ATLANTIC REGION SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. BEHIND THE FRONT...STRONG GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE DAY MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED SUNDAY. NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ009-012>017-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059- 091545- ASHE-ALLEGHANY NC-SURRY-STOKES-ROCKINGHAM-CASWELL-WATAUGA-WILKES- YADKIN-SMYTH-WYTHE-PULASKI-MONTGOMERY-GRAYSON-CARROLL-FLOYD-ROANOKE- BOTETOURT-ROCKBRIDGE-PATRICK-FRANKLIN-BEDFORD-AMHERST-HENRY- PITTSYLVANIA-CAMPBELL-APPOMATTOX-BUCKINGHAM-HALIFAX-CHARLOTTE- 1137 AM EDT THU MAY 8 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...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO TONIGHT. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CAROLINA...AND MOVE NORTHEASTWARD INTO THE FOOTHILLS AND PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA...AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA. CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR SOME OF THESE STORMS TO BECOME SEVERE. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT...BUT THERE IS ALSO THE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW OF THESE STORMS TO PRODUCE TORNADOES. IN ADDITION TO THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO EXPECTED. THE STORMS THAT DEVELOP ARE EXPECTED TO BE HEAVY RAIN PRODUCERS. WIDESPREAD RAINFALL OF ONE TO ONE AND A HALF INCHES IS EXPECTED...WITH LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS OF 2 INCHES OR MORE POSSIBLE. FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE INDICATES IT WILL TAKE RAINFALL OF CLOSE TO THREE INCHES TO PRODUCE MORE THAN MINOR FLOOD PROBLEMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS...WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL...ARE POSSIBLE ALONG A STRONG COLD FRONT THAT WILL CROSS THE MID ATLANTIC REGION SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. BEHIND THE FRONT...STRONG GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE DAY MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED AGAIN SUNDAY.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 148 AM EDT FRI MAY 9 2008 NCZ006-VAZ044-058-090645- CASWELL NC-HALIFAX VA-PITTSYLVANIA VA- 148 AM EDT FRI MAY 9 2008 AT 146 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES WEST OF DANVILLE CITY...OR ABOUT OVER WESTOVER HILLS...MOVING EAST AT 34 MPH. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...BLAIRS AT 155 AM EDT...RINGGOLD...DANVILLE AIRPORT AT 200 AM EDT...RINGGOLD...KEELING AT 205 AM EDT...ELMO...INGRAM AT 220 AM EDT...RIDGEWAY AT 225 AM EDT...LEDA AT 235 AM EDT... EXPECT RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF HALF TO ONE INCH THROUGH 300 AM. STONEFIELD
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
345 AM EDT FRI MAY 09 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0315 AM FLASH FLOOD 3 ESE AXTON 36.65N 79.67W
05/09/2008 PITTSYLVANIA VA PUBLIC
MUDSLIDE ON ROUTE 58 HAS CLOSED ONE LANE.
&&
JJACKSONPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
354 AM EDT FRI MAY 09 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0340 AM FLASH FLOOD MARTINSVILLE CITY 36.68N 79.87W
05/09/2008 CITY OF MARTINSVIL VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
SAM LYONS TRAIL ROAD WASHED OUT.
0340 AM FLASH FLOOD MARTINSVILLE CITY 36.68N 79.87W
05/09/2008 CITY OF MARTINSVIL VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
SPRUCE STREET AND OLD LIBERTY STREET CLOSED DUE TO HIGH
WATER FROM SMALL CREEK FLOODING.
&&
JJACKSONSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 533 AM EDT FRI MAY 9 2008 VAZ059-091030- CHARLOTTE VA- 533 AM EDT FRI MAY 9 2008 AT 528 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PHENIX...MOVING EAST AT 36 MPH. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...ABILENE...KEYSVILLE AT 545 AM EDT... EXPECT RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF A HALF TO ONE INCH THROUGH 630 AM. STONEFIELD
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 535 AM EDT FRI MAY 9 2008 VAZ058-059-091030- HALIFAX VA-CHARLOTTE VA- 535 AM EDT FRI MAY 9 2008 AT 532 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF NATHALIE...OR ABOUT 3 MILES NORTH OF CRYSTAL HILL...MOVING EAST AT 54 MPH. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...MT LAUREL...CLOVER AT 540 AM EDT...SAXE AT 545 AM EDT...DRAKES BRANCH...WYLLIESBURG AT 550 AM EDT...KEYSVILLE AT 600 AM EDT... EXPECT RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF A HALF TO ONE INCH THROUGH 630 AM. STONEFIELD
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
538 AM EDT FRI MAY 09 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0400 AM FLASH FLOOD 1 SE CHALK LEVEL 36.91N 79.27W
05/09/2008 PITTSYLVANIA VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
NORTH MEADOWS ROAD CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER.
0400 AM FLASH FLOOD 4 E CHALK LEVEL 36.92N 79.21W
05/09/2008 PITTSYLVANIA VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
JOHNSON MILL ROAD CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER.
1115 PM FLASH FLOOD 3 ESE HURT 37.07N 79.23W
05/08/2008 PITTSYLVANIA VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
DEWS ROAD CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER.
1130 PM FLASH FLOOD 2 NW GRETNA 36.97N 79.39W
05/08/2008 PITTSYLVANIA VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
FARMERS MOUNTAIN ROAD CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER.
&&
JJACKSONThe Roanoke radar (KFCX), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:58 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash flooding along Cascade Creek inundated Route 770, 2 miles northeast of Eden, closing the road.
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: 99244.