Hail in Virginia, May 26, 2011

Name: Hail in Virginia, May 26, 2011
Start: 2011-05-26T16:45
End: 2011-05-26T16:55
Location: Virginia

May 26, 2011 · NWS MRX · 2 events in 1 county or zone

The atmosphere destabilized during the late morning into afternoon period as a cold front progressed into the Southern Appalachian region. Large hail was the primary mode of severe weather as a pocket of cold air aloft moved across the forecast area.

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 MRX wrote it up.

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 Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 26, 2:46 PM EST, 1 hour 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 26, 2:46 PM EST, 1 hour 59 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
346 PM EDT THU MAY 26 2011

.SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT AND FRIDAY)...BUSY DAY WITH A MOIST/UNSTABLE
AIRMASS AHEAD OF THE SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT. AREAS THAT HEATED UP
AHEAD OF THE MORNING ACTIVITY HAVE SEEN LARGE HAIL...UP TO GOLF
BALL SIZE OR SLIGHTLY LARGER. SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS
WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING HOURS...AND I WOULD EXPECT POSSIBLY
A NEW WATCH...ONCE SEVERE TSTM WATCH #379 EXPIRES AT 6PM EDT.

LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS PLACES COLD FRONT NEAR A OHX TO HUN LINE
SO KEPT POPS AROUND 60 TO 80 PERCENT THROUGH MIDNIGHT...THEN LET
POPS DECREASE SLIGHTLY. NE AND E AREAS MAY KEEP LIKELY COVERAGE
EARLY ON FRIDAY...SO SLIGHT TWEAKS WERE MADE TO PREVIOUS GRIDS.

OTHERWISE...NOT A LOT OF TIME TO WORK ON FORECAST GRIDS FOR TONIGHT
AND FRIDAY...JUST SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS MADE IN LINE WITH LATEST
RADAR TRENDS AND NWS NEIGHBORS GRIDS.

.LONG TERM...(FRIDAY NIGHT THRU THURSDAY)...UPPER TROF EXITS VERY
SLOWLY FRIDAY NIGHT SO MAINTAINED SLIGHT THROUGH SMALL CHANCE OF
CONVECTION ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA. PRECIP
FINALLY GONE BY THE WEEKEND AS MASSIVE UPPER RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE
EASTERN U.S. THE RIDGE EXPANDS IN COVERAGE AND STRENGTHENS THROUGH
WEDNESDAY BEFORE RETREATING BACK TO THE WEST. RIDGING LEADS TO
SUBSIDENCE AND DRYING SO KEPT MUCH OF THE LONG TERM PERIOD DRY FOR
MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA. HOWEVER...THE MODELS DO INDICATE SOME
INSTABILITY AVAILABLE FOR ISOLATED CONVECTION MONDAY THROUGH
THURSDAY AND THE BEST CHANCE THAT A STORM CAN FORM IN THIS
ENVIRONMENT WILL BE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN SO APPLIED SLIGHT CHANCE
POPS EACH DAY IN THIS AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL BECOME VERY WARM WITH
HIGHS AROUND 10 TO 12 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. TRENDED TEMPS TOWARD MEX
MOS GUIDANCE.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
CHATTANOOGA AIRPORT, TN             61  80  59  90  67 /  50  30  10  10  10
KNOXVILLE MCGHEE TYSON AIRPORT, TN  62  79  59  87  66 /  70  30  20  10  10
OAK RIDGE, TN                       61  78  58  86  66 /  70  30  10  10  10
TRI CITIES AIRPORT, TN              59  77  55  85  62 /  60  60  30  10  10

&&

.MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NC...NONE.
TN...NONE.
VA...NONE.

&&

TG

Hazardous weather outlook, May 26, 1:22 AM EST, 15 hours 23 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
222 AM EDT THU MAY 26 2011

NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002-
005-006-008-270630-
CHEROKEE-CLAY-SCOTT TN-CAMPBELL-CLAIBORNE-HANCOCK-HAWKINS-
SULLIVAN-JOHNSON-MORGAN-ANDERSON-UNION-GRAINGER-HAMBLEN-
NORTHWEST COCKE-COCKE SMOKY MOUNTAINS-NORTHWEST GREENE-
SOUTHEAST GREENE-WASHINGTON TN-UNICOI-NORTHWEST CARTER-
SOUTHEAST CARTER-ROANE-LOUDON-KNOX-JEFFERSON-NW BLOUNT-
BLOUNT SMOKY MOUNTAINS-NORTH SEVIER-SEVIER SMOKY MOUNTAINS-
SEQUATCHIE-BLEDSOE-RHEA-MEIGS-MCMINN-NORTHWEST MONROE-
SOUTHEAST MONROE-MARION-HAMILTON-BRADLEY-WEST POLK-EAST POLK-LEE-
WISE-SCOTT-RUSSELL-WASHINGTON-
222 AM EDT THU MAY 26 2011 /122 AM CDT THU MAY 26 2011/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NORTH
CAROLINA...EAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

...SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TODAY...
A COLD FRONT WILL SLOWLY MOVE ACROSS THE TENNESSEE RIVER VALLEY
TODAY AND TONIGHT...BRINGING A BETTER CHANCE FOR ORGANIZED
THUNDERSTORMS. AS A RESULT...THERE WILL BE A CHANCE FOR WIDESPREAD
SEVERE WEATHER BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE GREATEST
CONCERN WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL UP TO GOLF-BALL SIZE.
ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE...MAINLY ACROSS THE PLATEAU AND
WESTERN SECTIONS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY AND THIS EVENING.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 26, 3:18 PM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
418 PM EDT THU MAY 26 2011

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

0342 PM     HAIL             MADISONVILLE            35.52N 84.36W
05/26/2011  E1.25 INCH       MONROE             TN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

Local storm report, May 26, 3:29 PM EST, 1 hour 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
429 PM EDT THU MAY 26 2011

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

0429 PM     HAIL             MOHAWK                  36.20N 83.06W
05/26/2011  E1.00 INCH       GREENE             TN   AMATEUR RADIO

            QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED.

&&

Local storm report, May 26, 3:58 PM EST, 47 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
458 PM EDT THU MAY 26 2011

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

0458 PM     HAIL             KINGSPORT               36.53N 82.56W
05/26/2011  E1.00 INCH       SULLIVAN           TN   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

Local storm report, May 26, 4:08 PM EST, 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
508 PM EDT THU MAY 26 2011

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

0500 PM     HAIL             COLONIAL HEIGHTS        36.48N 82.51W
05/26/2011  E1.50 INCH       SULLIVAN           TN   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

Local storm report, May 26, 4:14 PM EST, 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
514 PM EDT THU MAY 26 2011

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

0507 PM     HAIL             GRAY                    36.41N 82.48W
05/26/2011  E1.75 INCH       WASHINGTON         TN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

Local storm report, May 26, 4:32 PM EST, 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
532 PM EDT THU MAY 26 2011

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

0520 PM     HAIL             BLUFF CITY              36.46N 82.27W
05/26/2011  E1.00 INCH       SULLIVAN           TN   AMATEUR RADIO

0524 PM     HAIL             BLOUNTVILLE             36.53N 82.33W
05/26/2011  E1.00 INCH       SULLIVAN           TN   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 121 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:43 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Bristol (C)

When: May 26, 4:45 PM EST
Where: Bristol (C) County, 1.8 mi ENE of Bristol
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 36.610, -82.170

Quarter size hail fell at the Bristol Mall.

Hail, Bristol (C)

When: May 26, 4:55 PM EST
Where: Bristol (C) County, 1.8 mi ENE of Bristol
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 36.610, -82.170

Quarter size hail fell along interstate 81.

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

Every storm in Virginia in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in Virginia, May 2011

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: 299161, 299160.