Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 21, 2018
Start: 2018-05-21T12:52
End: 2018-05-21T16:22
Location: North Carolina

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: $5,000
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 RNK wrote it up.

Little change to the air mass from the previous day provided the same conditions for thunderstorms to again form in the mountains this afternoon. The key difference from the previous day is that outflows from these storms were able to push east of the mountains triggering a few severe thunderstorms farther east.

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 21, 9:13 AM EST, 3 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 21, 9:13 AM EST, 3 hours 39 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, May 21, 8:38 AM EST, 4 hours 14 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Blacksburg VA
938 AM EDT Mon May 21 2018

NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059-
WVZ042>044-507-508-221345-
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-
Eastern Greenbrier-Western Greenbrier-
938 AM EDT Mon May 21 2018

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 to numerous showers and thunderstorms will occur this
afternoon into this evening. Some of these storms will be slow
moving with torrential downpours likely to lead to localized
flooding.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday.

There is a low probability for widespread hazardous weather.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation may be needed.

RCS

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 21, 9:33 AM EST, 3 hours 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
1033 AM EDT MON MAY 21 2018

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

0410 PM     FLASH FLOOD      3 SW MOUNTAIN PARK      36.35N 80.89W
05/20/2018                   SURRY              NC   POST OFFICE

            PARTIAL ROAD WASHOUT ON ZEPHYR MOUNTAIN PARK ROAD. ALSO,
            AMBROSE CREEK AND OTHER SMALLER UNNAMED CREEKS OUT OF
            THEIR BANKS AND OVERFLOWING LOCAL ROADS.

&&

WERT

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:50 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Alleghany

When: May 21, 12:52 PM EST
Where: Alleghany County, 4.33 mi NE of Twin Oaks
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 36.570, -81.110

Thunderstorm Wind, Caswell

When: May 21, 4:22 PM EST
Where: Caswell County, 1.35 mi NNE of Camp Spgs
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 36.318, -79.490

Thunderstorm winds toppled three trees at an orchard on Rice Road.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Carolina in 2018 Every state in 2018 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, May 2018

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: 753542, 753544.