A period of below normal rainfall towards the end of May into early June across Virginia, allowed drought conditions by the middle of June to worsen to the Severe (D2) category in those areas along the North Carolina border west of Danville.
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.
A period of below normal rainfall towards the end of May into early June across Virginia, allowed drought conditions by the middle of June to worsen to the Severe (D2) category in those areas along the North Carolina border west of Danville.
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 17, 5:22 AM EST, 1 hour 38 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 622 AM EDT TUE JUN 17 2008 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT STALLS ALONG THE NORTH CAROLINA COAST TODAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE THE MAIN WEATHER MAKER THROUGH TONIGHT. A SERIES OF UPPER DISTURBANCES WILL BRING ISOLATED CONVECTION WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... HIGH PRESSURE AND DRIER AIR WILL WORKING INTO THE MAJORITY OF THE FORECAST AREA TODAY...WITH LINGERING HIGHER DEWPOINTS SET UP OVER SOUTHSIDE VA INTO NW NC. THINK THE DEEPER MOISTURE AND CONVECTION WILL REMAIN SOUTHEAST OF OUR REGION TODAY. ASIDE FROM SOME CIRRUS AND AFTERNOON CU...EXPECT MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES. && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... FORECAST AREA IS UNDER COLD AIR ADVECTION AT 850 MB AND AIRMASS CONTINUES TO DRY OUT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES DROPPING TO AROUND 0.5 INCHES. 500 MB PATTERN GRADUALLY AMPLIFIES WITH TROF AXIS JUST EAST OFF THE NORTHEAST COAST BY FRIDAY MORNING. A SERIES OF SHORT WAVES AND ASSOCIATED JET STREAKS ROTATE AROUND THE UPPER TROF. AS EACH WAVE PASSES THE LOW LEVEL FLOW BACKS TO THE WEST AND MOISTURE SLIGHTLY INCREASES. 850 TEMPERATURES MODERATE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...STAYING MAINLY IN THE +10 TO +16 RANGE. WILL KEEP BEST CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE NORTHWEST COUNTIES ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE NAM WAS SHOWING SOME UPPER DIFFLUENCE AND AFTERNOON CONVECTION IN THE PIEDMONT ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON...BUT NOT ANY OF THE OTHER MODELS SO WILL LEAVE DRY FOR NOW. ONLY MINOR CHANGES TO TEMPERATURES THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. STAYED CLOSE TO GUIDANCE FOR MOST LOCATIONS. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... NO CHANGES MADE TO THIS PERIOD. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...THE 00Z GEFS MEAN AND ECMWF ENSEMBLE MEAN CONTINUED TO SHOW A TROUGH OVER THE EAST. OVERALL...NW FLOW ALOFT AND BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE IN STORE FOR THE MID ATLANTIC REGION. MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT OUR REGION WILL BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A 5H TROF THAT MAY BE REINFORCED BY ADDED S/W ENERGY TOWARD THE WEEKEND. IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT THE DETERMINISTIC GFS CLOSES OFF A MID LEVEL LOW OVER THE SOUTHEAST DAYS 6 AND 7(SAT AND SUN)...WITH THE ECMWF SENDING MOST OF THE FRESH HEIGHT FALLS INTO THE MID ATLANTIC REGION. WITH LOW LEVEL NORTHWEST FLOW AND WEAK SHORTWAVES RIDING AROUND UPPER LOW...CANT RULE OUT AFTERNOON WIDELY SCATTERED CONVECTION IN THE MOUNTAINS BUT APPEARS BEST SHOT MAY COME THURSDAY AND AGAIN OVER THE WEEKEND WITH THE NEXT IMPULSE. PLAYED THE HIGHEST CHC POPS ON SATURDAY. LEANED TEMPERATURES TOWARDS HPCGUIDE DURING THE PERIOD. && .AVIATION /10Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... AREAS THAT RECEIVED RAINFALL MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING WILL HAVE FOG THROUGH 13-14 UTC THIS MORNING. LWB AND BLF ARE THE MOST LIKELY SPOTS TO STILL HAVE FOG AT 12Z WHEN THE TAF STARTS. ENOUGH DRY AIR COMES IN FOR THE REST OF THE DAY TO FOR VFR CONDITIONS FOR THE REST OF THE TAF PERIOD. THERE IS A LOW CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE MOUNTAINS ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AFTERNOON WHICH MAY RESULT IN MVFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...NONE. NC...NONE. WV...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...WP NEAR TERM...WP SHORT TERM...AMS LONG TERM...JH/KK AVIATION...AMS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 558 AM EDT TUE JUN 17 2008 NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059- WVZ042>045-181000- 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 JUN 17 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...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY 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.
Drought conditions worsened from Moderate (D1) to Severe (D2) on June 17th across the southern half of the county. This category of drought continued through the end of the month.
Drought conditions started the month across the county in the Abnormally Dry (D0) category, but progressed into Moderate (D1) drought conditions by June 10th. On June 17th, a small portion of the county west of Danville worsened to the Severe (D2) category. This category of drought continued through the end 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, June 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: 99127, 99128.