Winds associated with a strong upper level jet wrapping into the area behind an exiting upper level disturbance were brought downward to the surface by associated severe thunderstorms.
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.
Winds associated with a strong upper level jet wrapping into the area behind an exiting upper level disturbance were brought downward to the surface by associated severe thunderstorms.
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 Jul 8, 9:33 AM EST, 1 hour 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 1033 AM EDT TUE JUL 8 2008 .SYNOPSIS... UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE WESTERN PIEDMONT SHIFTS EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON BUT STILL SOME SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TODAY AND WEDNESDAY. A FRONT OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST WILL MAKE SLOW PROGRESS TOWARD THE AREA BY EARLY THURSDAY. BUT IT WILL REMAIN VERY WARM AND HUMID AHEAD OF IT. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... EARLY MORNING SHORT WAVE RIDING AROUND THE BACK SIDE OF UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AND LOW LEVEL JET CONTINUES TO GENERATE SHOWERS WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. THIS WAVE AND ASSOCIATED PRECIPITATION WILL MOVE INTO CENTRAL NC EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. FLOW ALOFT IS WESTERLY AND SHOULD DIMINISH COVERAGE OF SHOWERS EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE...BUT RADAR TRENDS SHOWING PRECIP OVERCOMING THIS DOWNSLOPE COMPONENT. CLEARING IN THE WAKE OF THIS WAVE AND ANY OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES LEFT BEHIND COULD GENERATE SCATTERED CONVECTION ACROSS THE AREA AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. RAIN COMING IN EARLY THIS MORNING MAY BE A GOOD THING AS CAPE VALUES WILL BE REDUCED THIS AFTERNOON. WE WILL NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON AREAS NOT SEEING RAIN FROM THIS SYSTEM AS CAPE VALUES COULD APPROACH 2000-2500 J/KG. SOUTHSIDE IS ONE PARTICLUAR AREA WE ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON AS COLD POOL FROM THE UPPER LEVEL LOW IS STILL OVER THIS REGION. && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... SCATTERED CONVECTION TODAY SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET ALTHOUGH CAN NOT RULE OUT STORMS DEVELOPING ALONG OUTLFOW BOUNDARIES AND DUE TO COOLING ALOFT SIMILAR TO THIS EVENINGS EVENT. MILD OVERNIGHT TEMPS WITH PLENTY OF DEBRIS CLOUDS AND POSSIBLE SHOWERS LINGERING PLUS HIGH AMBIENT MOISTURE. WEDNESDAY COULD BE YET ANOTHER RERUN OF MONDAY AND POSSIBLY TUESDAY. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY TO DEVELOP ALTHOUGH UPPER SUPPORT NOT AS SUBSTANTIAL AS MONDAY WITH UPPER LOW OUT OF THE PICTURE. STILL A MOIST UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT WITH SIMILAR PWATS TO TODAY AND MODERATE INSTABILITY DUE TO STRONG JULY SUN. SPC HAS SEE TEXT GOING AND MENTIONS THE LACK OF SHEAR AS A LIMITING FACTOR IN THE SEVERE POTENTIAL AND IN FACT FLOOD THREAT MAY BE THE BIGGER ISSUE. SOME AREAS HAVE HAD FAIRLY IMPRESSIVE RAINFALL IN RECENT DAYS AND FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE WILL BE REDUCED. REPEAT CONVECTION OVER THE SAME BASINS LIKELY TO ENHANCE RUNOFF EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOOD PROBLEMS. HPC QPF FOR DAY 2 FOCUSED BACK TO THE WEST CLOSER TO THE BOUNDARY DROPPING SLOWLY THRU THE OH VALLEY BUT A BROAD BRUSH OF 0.25 TO 0.50 INCHES IS SHOWN FOR THE 24 HR ENDING THU AT 12Z...BUT OF COURSE UNIFORM RAINFALL IS VERY UNLIKELY AND SOME AREAS MAY RECEIVE 3-INCH PLUS AMOUNTS SIMILAR TO RECENT DAYS. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN AROUND OR SOMEWHAT ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH OVERNIGHT MINS HELD UP MORE BY THE VERY HUMID CONDITIONS. DID NOT DEPART GREATLY FROM MAV GUIDANCE ON TEMPS. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... FRONT FINALLY MAKES IT INTO THE AREA EARLY THURSDAY AND EVENTUALLY WASHES OUT TO OUR SOUTH BY THE WEEKEND. MADE ONLY MINOR CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED GRIDS AS FORECAST SYNOPTIC PATTERN HAS NOT CHANGED DRASTICALLY. STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE WITH THE FRONTAL PASSAGE THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE PRIME AREA WILL BE ALONG THE VA/NC BORDER SOUTH. DRY AIR WITH NORTHWEST FLOW SHOULD EMBRACE THE ENTIRE AREA BY FRIDAY MORNING. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING DRY WEATHER TO THE REGION FOR THE WEEKEND...BUT A WEAK TROUGH ALOFT CLOUD ALSO BRING AN ISOLATED SHOWER TO THE MOUNTAINS. EVEN WITH THE FRONTAL PASSAGE...DO NOT EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO COOL OFF MUCH. WITH DRY AIR AND A STRONG SUMMER SUN...TEMPERATURES COULD EASILY WARM TO ABOVE NORMAL. 850 MB TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO BE +18C TO +20C OVER THE WEEKEND. && .AVIATION /15Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS AGAIN TODAY MAY BRIEFLY LOWER VSBY/CIGS TO MVFR OR IFR DEPENDING ON PROXIMITY TO TERMINALS ALONG WITH GUSTY WINDS. SLOW MOVING UPPER LOW CONTINUES TO MOVE TO 0UR EAST TODAY BUT ENOUGH INSTABILITY EXPECTED FOR ADDITIONAL STORMS TO FIRE IN THE AFTERNOON. CHOSE TO CARRY CB IN THE CLOUD GROUPS TO REFLECT THIS POSSIBILITY AS LOCATIONS ARE UNCERTAIN...WITH EXCEPTION OF A VCTS AT DANVILLE WHERE MORE UNSTABLE CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST. COOL FRONT PASSES ACROSS THE MID ATLANTIC REGION ON WEDNESDAY CONTINUING THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BUT ALLOWING SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR FOR LATE WEEK. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...NONE. NC...NONE. WV...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...PC NEAR TERM...PC/RCS SHORT TERM...PC LONG TERM...PC/RCS AVIATION...PC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 558 AM EDT TUE JUL 8 2008 NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059- WVZ042>045-091000- 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- 558 AM EDT TUE JUL 8 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 SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE REGION. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE HEAVY RAINFALL. A FEW STORMS MAY CONTAIN LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...ALONG WITH FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE AGAIN POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA WITH MORE HEAVY RAIN AND DAMAGING WIND POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1039 AM EDT TUE JUL 08 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0135 AM HAIL 2 S LEXINGTON 37.75N 79.44W
07/08/2008 E0.75 INCH ROCKBRIDGE VA PUBLIC
HAIL FELL ON THORNHILL ROAD.
&&
HYSELLPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1103 AM EDT TUE JUL 08 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0227 AM TSTM WND DMG 4 SE GOSHEN 37.94N 79.45W
07/08/2008 ROCKBRIDGE VA PUBLIC
LARGE LIMBS DOWN BLOCKING ROUTE 39 NEAR GOSHEN PASS.
&&
HYSELLPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1121 AM EDT TUE JUL 08 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0722 PM HAIL 4 NNE BOTTOM 36.53N 80.75W
07/07/2008 E1.75 INCH SURRY NC TRAINED SPOTTER
THE HAIL RANGED FROM QUARTER TO GOLF BALL SIZE.
0741 PM HAIL 5 ENE BOTTOM 36.52N 80.69W
07/07/2008 E0.75 INCH SURRY NC PUBLIC
&&
DSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1130 AM EDT TUE JUL 08 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0120 AM HAIL 7 WSW APPOMATTOX 37.32N 78.94W
07/08/2008 E0.75 INCH APPOMATTOX VA LAW ENFORCEMENT
PENNY SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY SHERIFFS DEPUTY ON SAGE ROAD
NEAR CAMPBELL COUNTY BORDER.
&&
SKPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1148 AM EDT TUE JUL 08 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0635 PM HAIL 1 WNW LOW GAP 36.54N 80.88W
07/07/2008 E0.88 INCH SURRY NC PUBLIC
THE HAIL LASTED UNTIL 640 PM EDT.
&&
DSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1215 PM EDT TUE JUL 08 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0635 PM HAIL 5 SW CENTENARY 37.65N 78.58W
07/07/2008 E0.88 INCH BUCKINGHAM VA PUBLIC
HAIL FELL ON ROUTE 655 IN GLENMORE.
&&
HYSELLThe Roanoke radar (KFCX), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:14 UTC.
15 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Two trees were blown down. Damage values are estimated.
Trees were blown down at the intersection of highways 360 and 47. Damage values are estimated.
A tree was blown down at the Red Oak Post Office. Damage values are estimated.
Trees were blown down. Damage values are estimated.
Severe thunderstorm winds snapped off the top of a pine tree, uprooted an apple tree, and tore a deck off a house.
A tree was blown down, and it blocked Route 100. Damage values are estimated.
A large tree was blown down on Route 750. Damage values are estimated.
Large tree limbs were blown down on Ayers Orchard Road. Damage values are estimated.
Numerous trees were blown down. Damage amounts are estimated.
A tree was blown down. Damage values are estimated.
Two trees were blown down on State Route 43. Damage values are estimated.
A tree was blown down. Damage values are estimated.
Two large trees were blown down. Damage values are estimated.
A tree was blown down. Damage values are estimated.
Large trees were blown down. Damage values are estimated.
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: 124404, 124463, 124406, 124407, 124409, 124464, 124410, 124414, 124415, 124455, 124458, 129551, 129553, 124459, 124461, 124460, 124462.