Rainfall across the region during July was near normal with localized pockets of heavier thunderstorm induced rainfall. These heavier rains helped to mitigate drought conditions slightly for parts of Southside Virginia.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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.
Rainfall across the region during July was near normal with localized pockets of heavier thunderstorm induced rainfall. These heavier rains helped to mitigate drought conditions slightly for parts of Southside Virginia.
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 Jun 30, 8:24 PM EST, 3 hours 36 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 924 PM EDT MON JUN 30 2008 .SYNOPSIS... UPPER TROUGH ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY WILL PASS EAST ACROSS THE REGION THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. DISTURBANCES SWINGING THROUGH THIS FEATURE WILL TRIGGER ORGANIZED CONVECTION OVER PARTS OF THE REGION INTO TONIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE AREA TUESDAY AND THEN LINGER UNTIL LATE IN THE WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/... WATER VAPOR SATELLITE SHOWS THE CENTER OF THE UPPER LOW AND COLD CORE JUST SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH AND LIFTING NEWD. CONVECTION FURTHER SOUTH ACROSS THE CWA IS WEAKENING RAPIDLY WITH LOSS OF HEATING. I PLAN TO UPDATE & REMOVE ALL MENTION OF TSTMS. WILL HAVE SOME LOW OR SLIGHT CHC POPS FOR SHOWERS ONLY IN UPSLOPE SE WV. WILL UPDATE HWO TO REMOVE MENTION OF SLIGHT CHC OF SEVERE AS WELL. CURRENT TEMPS ARE COOLER THAN FCST...BUT OVERNIGHT LOWS LOOK ON TRACK BASED ON CURRENT DEWPOINTS. MAY LOWER THEM A FEW DEGREES...BUT WILL AT LEAST HAVE TO UPDATE HOURLY TEMPS/DEWPOINTS. 5H TROF AXIS WILL BE ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE TUESDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE SLOWLY BUILDS IN FROM THE WEST. SOME LINGERING LOW LEVEL RH MAY COMBINE WITH STEEPER LAPSES NE TO PRODUCE MORE CLOUDS/ISOLATED AFTERNOON SHRA LYH REGION BUT TOO IFFY TO INCLUDE. OTRW ADVECTION OF DRY AIR INTO THE AREA SHOULD MAKE FOR MAINLY SUNNY SKIES AND COMFORTABLE TEMPS UNDER A NW BREEZE. SINCE 85H THERMAL TROF LOOKS TO MODIFY SOME IN THE AFTERNOON...STAYED ON THE WARM SIDE OF HIGH TEMPS GIVEN SUNSHINE AND EASTERN DOWNSLOPE. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... COOLER AND DRIER AIR RESULTING FROM ANOMALOUS H5 TROUGH IN THE EAST WILL PROVIDE SOME CHILLY NIGHTS IN THE SHELTERED VALLEYS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS SE WEST VA. MAY BE PRUDENT TO GO AT LEAST A FEW DEGREES BELOW MAV/MET UNDER BEST SET UP WEDNESDAY MORNING. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... UPPER AIR PATTERN REMAINS SIMILAR THROUGH THE LONG TERM...WITH STRONG UPPER HIGH REMAIN NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS...AND RESULTING H5 GYRES NEAR HUDSON BAY AND THE GULF OF ALASKA. AS HAS BEEN THE CASE OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS...UPPER AIR DISTURBANCES SLIDING DOWN THE NE PERIPHERY OF THE UPPER HIGH THROUGH WESTERN CANADA WILL AMPLIFY AS THEY TRAVEL SOUTHEASTERLY INTO EASTERN TROUGH. AT THE SURFACE THIS MEANS ANOTHER POTENT COLD FRONT MAY BE DRAPED ALONG THE OHIO VALLEY IN TIME FOR THE WEEKEND. MAIN DIFFERENCE NEAR THE END OF THE FORECAST IS THE RETROGRESSION OF THE HUDSON BAY GYRE PER THE ECMWF...WHICH ERODES THE STRONG UPPER RIDGE OVER WESTERN CANADA...AND ALLOWS SOME OF THE WESTERN HEAT TO OOZE EAST. THIS LOOKS LIKE A MORE PLAUSIBLE SOLUTION...IN CONTRAST TO THE GFS WHICH HAS MORE OF A ZONAL PATTERN DESPITE A SIMILAR H5 PATTERN TO WHAT IS OBSERVED TODAY. && .AVIATION /01Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... UPPER TROUGH IS PIVOTING ACROSS WV AT THIS TIME. INITIAL LINE OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE HAVE ALREADY PASSED EAST OF THE AIRPORTS IN OUR CWA. SECONDARY LINE JUST AHEAD OF THE SFC FRONT IS JUST WEST OF BLF AND LWB. THIS LINE HAS WEAKENED CONSIDERABLY...BUT WILL BRING A PERIOD OF SHOWERS AND LIKELY MVFR CONDITIONS THRU 02Z. WIND SHIFT TO NORTHWEST BEHIND THE FRONT...AND I EXPECT IFR TO LIFR CONDITIONS TO DEVELOP WITH A SHALLOW LAYER OF MOISTURE AND UPSLOPE FLOW. LWB IS MOST LIKELY TO DROP TO LIFR AS I EXPECT THEM TO CLEAR OFF LATE AD RADIATE WELL. THE IFR CONDITIONS AT BOTH BLF AND LWB SHUD NOT LAST MUCH PAST 12Z TUE. VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED AT ALL SITES THEN...WITH NORTHWEST WINDS INCREASING TO THE 10 TO 15 KNOT RANGE. EXPECT HIGH PRESSURE AND TRANQUIL WEATHER WITH A DRIER AIRMASS TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY BEFORE ANOTHER COLD FRONT ARRIVES WITH MORE SHRA/TSRA BY THE WEEKEND. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...NONE. NC...NONE. WV...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...JH NEAR TERM...JH/JJ SHORT TERM...KM LONG TERM...KM AVIATION...JH/JJ
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 950 PM EDT MON JUN 30 2008 NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059- WVZ042>045-020200- 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- 950 PM EDT MON JUN 30 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...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.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
701 PM EDT MON JUN 30 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0619 PM HAIL LYNCHBURG CITY 37.42N 79.15W
06/30/2008 E0.75 INCH CITY OF LYNCHBURG VA PUBLIC
PENNY HAIL ON HIGHWAY 460 IN LYNCHBURG
0632 PM TSTM WND DMG LYNCHBURG CITY 37.42N 79.15W
06/30/2008 CITY OF LYNCHBURG VA BROADCAST MEDIA
TREE DOWN ON OLD GRAVES MILL ROAD NEAR TIMBERLAKE ROAD.
&&
JJACKSONPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
743 PM EDT MON JUN 30 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0655 PM HAIL 3 SSW STRAIGHTSTONE 36.98N 79.15W
06/30/2008 E0.75 INCH PITTSYLVANIA VA PUBLIC
PENNY HAIL AT 2068 STRAIGHTSTONE ROAD
&&
JJACKSONThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
A Severe (D2) Drought continued across the southern half of the county.
A Severe (D2) Drought continued across southern half of the county the first week of the month. However, on the 8th of the month, the Severe (D2) Drought expanded north to include the entire county. This level of severity coverage continue through the end of the month.
A Severe (D2) Drought continued across the southern third of the county until the 8th of the month when the severity was downgraded to a Moderate (D1) Drought.
A Severe (D2) Drought continued across the southern half of the county through the first week of the month. On the 8th of the month, conditions improved a little across the county so that only the far southwest corner of the county was included in the Severe (D2) Drought category with the remainder of the county in a Moderate (D1) Drought category. These drought conditions and locations continued through the remainder of the month.
A Severe (D2) Drought continued through the first week of the month across the far southwest part of the county west of Danville. On the 8th, the category of drought improved to a Moderate (D1) Drought. This level of drought continued through the remainder of the month.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, July 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: 123037, 123038, 123040, 123041, 123042.