Name: Hail in Oklahoma, April 3, 2008
Start: 2008-04-03T19:50
End: 2008-04-03T20:10
Location: Oklahoma

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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 SHV wrote it up.

Severe thunderstorms developed across north Texas and southern Oklahoma during the afternoon of April 3rd and moved east into the region during the evening of April 3rd. The storms developed in a very unstable airmass with strong low level shear profiles resulting in the storms taking on supercell characteristics. Large hail, and damaging thunderstorm wind gusts were the result. The storms continued to train across portions of the region, resulting in flash flooding.

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 Shreveport, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 3, 7:37 PM CST, 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 3, 7:37 PM CST, 13 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
837 PM CDT THU APR 3 2008

.DISCUSSION...
ANOTHER QUICK UPDATE TO ADDRESS THE CANCELLATION OF TOR #156 AND
THE ISSUANCE OF SVR #157 WHICH IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 AM. AS
WE GET INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...IT WAS DETERMINED BY SURROUNDING
OFFICES AND SPC THAT STORMS ARE LESS LIKELY TO PRODUCE TORNADOES AND
WILL BE A CONTINUED HAIL THREAT WITH A SLIGHT WIND THREAT THROUGH THE
NIGHT. FOR THIS REASON...THE CHANGE IN WATCHES WAS MADE. PICKED UP
THE REST OF SW AR WITH SVR #157. ALSO INCREASED POPS FOR MUCH OF
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT. NO OTHER CHANGES
ATTM...13.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
SHV  63  68  48  73 /  60 100  20   0
MLU  63  72  51  70 /  40 100  30   0
DEQ  56  63  40  71 /  80  70  10   0
TXK  58  63  45  71 /  80  70  10   0
ELD  62  65  45  71 /  70 100  20   0
TYR  62  67  45  72 /  80  70  10   0
GGG  63  66  46  71 /  80  70  10   0
LFK  65  71  51  76 /  40  70  20   0

&&

.SHV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 4 AM FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     HEMPSTEAD...HOWARD...LITTLE RIVER...MILLER...AND SEVIER.

LA...NONE.
OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 4 AM FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: AND
     MCCURTAIN.

TX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 4 AM FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     BOWIE...CAMP...CASS...FRANKLIN...MORRIS...RED RIVER...AND
     TITUS.

&&

13

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 3, 11:11 AM CST, 8 hours 39 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
1211 PM CDT THU APR 3 2008

ARZ050-051-059>061-070>073-LAZ001>006-010>014-017>022-OKZ077-TXZ096-
097-108>112-124>126-136>138-149>153-165>167-041100-
ANGELINA-BIENVILLE-BOSSIER-BOWIE-CADDO-CALDWELL-CAMP-CASS-CHEROKEE-
CLAIBORNE-COLUMBIA-DE SOTO-FRANKLIN-GRANT-GREGG-HARRISON-HEMPSTEAD-
HOWARD-JACKSON-LA SALLE-LAFAYETTE-LINCOLN-LITTLE RIVER-MARION-
MCCURTAIN-MILLER-MORRIS-NACOGDOCHES-NATCHITOCHES-NEVADA-OUACHITA-
PANOLA-RED RIVER LA-RED RIVER TX-RUSK-SABINE LA-SABINE TX-
SAN AUGUSTINE-SEVIER-SHELBY-SMITH-TITUS-UNION AR-UNION LA-UPSHUR-
WEBSTER-WINN-WOOD-
1211 PM CDT THU APR 3 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
ARKANSAS...SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...NORTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA...
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA...EAST TEXAS AND
NORTHEAST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT...NORTH OF
A MINEOLA TEXAS TO MAGNOLIA ARKANSAS LINE. SOUTH OF THIS AREA...
BUT NORTH OF A LINE FROM LUFKIN TEXAS...TO MONROE LOUISIANA...
THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT.

THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER RISK WILL BE HAIL GREATER THAN AN INCH IN
DIAMETER. ISOLATED TORNADOES...AND DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60
MILES AN HOUR ARE ALSO POSSIBLE TONIGHT. HEAVY RAINFALL PRODUCING
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING...MAINLY
ACROSS THE NORTH HALF OF THE FOUR STATE AREA.

A LAYER OF WARM AIR...A FEW THOUSAND FEET ABOVE THE SURFACE...SHOULD
PROHIBIT THUNDERSTORMS FROM DEVELOPING DURING THE AFTERNOON.
HOWEVER...AS A STRONG UPPER LEVEL IMPULSE APPROACHES THE AREA
TONIGHT...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVERNIGHT.
THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BEGIN OVER NORTHEAST TEXAS...AND SOUTHEAST
OKLAHOMA TONIGHT...AND MOVE SOUTHEAST...INTO SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS AND
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA...LATE TONIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING. SOME OF THESE
STORMS MAY QUICKLY BECOME SEVERE.

THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO FORM INTO A SQUALL LINE LATE
TONIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING...WHICH WILL MOVE ACROSS THE FOUR STATE
REGION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...

SEVERE WEATHER MAY BE ONGOING FRIDAY AS THE SQUALL LINE CONTINUES
TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD
GRADUALLY END FROM THE WEST FRIDAY AFTERNOON...AS A COLD FRONT MOVES
EAST OF THE AREA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

THE ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTER GROUPS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS...AND
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER
OPERATIONS...MAY BE NEEDED TONIGHT...AND FRIDAY MORNING.

03

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 3, 6:40 PM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
740 PM CDT THU APR 03 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0735 PM     HAIL             2 E DEPORT              33.53N 95.28W
04/03/2008  E0.75 INCH       RED RIVER          TX   PUBLIC

            HAIL REPORTED ON THE EXTREME EAST SIDE OF TOWN.

&&

MBERRY

Local storm report, Apr 3, 7:42 PM CST, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
842 PM CDT THU APR 03 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0841 PM     HAIL             7 W DE QUEEN            34.04N 94.46W
04/03/2008  M0.75 INCH       SEVIER             AR   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            HAIL REPORTED JUST WEST OF THE MCCURTAIN COUNTY LINE.

&&

MBERRY

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, McCurtain

When: April 3, 7:50 PM CST
Where: McCurtain County, 0.57 mi E of North Valiant
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 34.000, -95.090

Hail, McCurtain

When: April 3, 8:10 PM CST
Where: McCurtain County, 0.57 mi E of Idabel
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 33.900, -94.820

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

More

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 93915, 93804.