The severe wind outbreak of March 4, 2008

315 wind reportsNorth Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and 7 more states

315 damaging wind reports across 10 states between 1:11 AM and 11:55 PM CST, 8 of them 65 knots (75 mph) or stronger; the strongest measured gust was 78 mph in Onslow County, NC. 13 hail reports and 9 tornadoes the same day.

Watch the day unfold

Severe wind day · March 4, 2008

How the day unfolded

Every damaging wind report of the day at its logged time, with the day's hail reports and tornadoes, and the counties they reached.

About this replay

Central time—Historical replay — logged report times

Wind reports—of 315 that day

Strongest gust—measured, so far

Largest hail—so far

The day’s milestones

Wind reportsLarger and brighter with speed; filled when measured, a ring when estimated

Hail and tornadoesHail reports as diamonds; the day's tornado paths in green

Counties reportingLit at their first report, brighter with a 65-knot gust or 2-inch hail

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database (wind, hail and tornado reports with their logged times and places). Each report is a damage or measurement report, not a separate storm; several can describe one gust front. Tornado paths are drawn at a typical forward speed of 35 mph. Times are Central Standard Time.

The day in numbers

Wind reports: 315; on Tuesday, March 4, 2008
75 mph or more: 8; 2 of 86 mph (75 knots) or more
Strongest measured gust: 78 mph; 68 knots, Onslow County, NC
Measured: 25; reports with an instrument reading; the rest are estimates from damage
Killed by wind: 0; 0 injured
Counties reporting: 195; in 10 states

Hour by hour

Damaging wind reports in each hour, Central Standard Time.

The strongest winds

The 100 strongest reports with a speed. Measured gusts come from an instrument; estimated speeds are judged from damage.

Strongest wind reports, March 4, 2008

10:05 PM	Louisa County VA	90 mph	78	Estimated
9:05 PM	Richland County SC	86 mph	75	Estimated
5:05 PM	Spartanburg County SC	81 mph	70	Estimated
7:05 PM	Richmond County GA	81 mph	70	Estimated
11:50 PM	Onslow County NC	78 mph	68	Measured
1:00 PM	Pulaski County KY	75 mph	65	Estimated
6:50 PM	Iredell County NC	75 mph	65	Estimated
11:15 PM	Halifax County NC	75 mph	65	Estimated
11:33 PM	Arlington County VA	74 mph	64	Measured
11:30 PM	Charles County MD	72 mph	63	Measured
10:25 PM	Wake County NC	70 mph	61	Measured
3:58 PM	Caswell County NC	70 mph	61	Estimated
8:25 PM	Stanly County NC	70 mph	61	Estimated
8:40 PM	Stanly County NC	70 mph	61	Estimated
10:25 PM	Wake County NC	70 mph	61	Estimated
11:15 PM	Halifax County NC	70 mph	61	Estimated
11:15 PM	Halifax County NC	70 mph	61	Estimated
11:15 PM	Halifax County NC	70 mph	61	Estimated
2:30 PM	Habersham County GA	69 mph	60	Estimated
3:30 PM	Franklin County GA	69 mph	60	Estimated
5:20 PM	McDowell County NC	69 mph	60	Estimated
5:25 PM	Caldwell County NC	69 mph	60	Estimated
5:30 PM	Burke County NC	69 mph	60	Estimated
6:00 PM	Catawba County NC	69 mph	60	Estimated
6:04 PM	Lincoln County GA	69 mph	60	Estimated
6:40 PM	Surry County NC	69 mph	60	Estimated
8:46 PM	Kershaw County SC	69 mph	60	Estimated
8:52 PM	Richland County SC	69 mph	60	Estimated
11:39 PM	Prince George's County MD	66 mph	57	Measured
1:52 PM	Clark County KY	64 mph	56	Estimated
12:52 PM	Pulaski County KY	63 mph	55	Measured
7:08 PM	Davie County NC	63 mph	55	Measured
1:45 AM	Burke County GA	63 mph	55	Estimated
1:40 PM	Graham County NC	63 mph	55	Estimated
2:37 PM	Leslie County KY	63 mph	55	Estimated
3:50 PM	Lancaster County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
4:25 PM	Henderson County NC	63 mph	55	Estimated
4:30 PM	Elbert County GA	63 mph	55	Estimated
5:05 PM	Rutherford County NC	63 mph	55	Estimated
6:15 PM	Columbia County GA	63 mph	55	Estimated
6:30 PM	Laurens County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
7:08 PM	Lexington County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
7:10 PM	Rowan County NC	63 mph	55	Estimated
7:25 PM	York County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
7:58 PM	Lexington County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
8:41 PM	Lexington County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
8:50 PM	Orange County NC	63 mph	55	Estimated
8:55 PM	Sumter County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
8:56 PM	Lee County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
9:00 PM	Calhoun County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
9:00 PM	Richland County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
9:00 PM	Orangeburg County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
9:10 PM	Clarendon County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
9:15 PM	Sumter County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
9:15 PM	Sumter County SC	63 mph	55	Estimated
8:19 PM	Bath County VA	61 mph	53	Measured
1:37 PM	Jackson County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
1:47 PM	Jackson County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
1:50 PM	Whitley County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
1:52 PM	Jackson County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
1:59 PM	Jackson County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
1:59 PM	Jackson County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
2:15 PM	Powell County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
2:34 PM	Bath County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
2:35 PM	Bell County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
2:41 PM	Clay County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
2:42 PM	Bell County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
2:48 PM	Leslie County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
2:57 PM	Harlan County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
2:58 PM	Leslie County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
3:00 PM	Harlan County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
3:10 PM	Harlan County KY	61 mph	53	Estimated
11:25 PM	Edgecombe County NC	61 mph	53	Estimated
8:00 PM	Guilford County NC	60 mph	52	Measured
1:11 AM	Jessamine County KY	60 mph	52	Estimated
1:59 PM	Madison County KY	60 mph	52	Estimated
2:00 PM	Clark County KY	60 mph	52	Estimated
2:40 PM	Rockingham County NC	60 mph	52	Estimated
2:55 PM	Henry County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
3:00 PM	Stokes County NC	60 mph	52	Estimated
3:00 PM	Rockingham County NC	60 mph	52	Estimated
3:30 PM	Pittsylvania County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
4:05 PM	Danville VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
4:39 PM	Campbell County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
4:44 PM	Halifax County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
4:45 PM	Halifax County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
5:40 PM	Appomattox County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
5:45 PM	Smyth County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
6:40 PM	Wythe County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
6:40 PM	Yadkin County NC	60 mph	52	Estimated
6:50 PM	Surry County NC	60 mph	52	Estimated
7:00 PM	Wilkes County NC	60 mph	52	Estimated
7:01 PM	Pulaski County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
7:03 PM	Franklin County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
7:15 PM	Patrick County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
7:15 PM	Patrick County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
7:18 PM	Buckingham County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
7:20 PM	Patrick County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
7:22 PM	Franklin County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated
7:25 PM	Franklin County VA	60 mph	52	Estimated

By state

Severe weather reports by state, March 4, 2008

North Carolina	105	78 mph	5	1.00
Virginia	80	74 mph	0	—
South Carolina	44	—	3	0.75
Georgia	25	—	4	0.88
Kentucky	23	63 mph	0	—
Tennessee	16	—	0	—
Maryland	12	72 mph	0	—
Alabama	6	—	0	—
Pennsylvania	2	—	0	—
West Virginia	2	58 mph	0	—
Mississippi	0	—	1	1.75

Counties with the most wind reports

Halifax CountyVA · 12 reports
Halifax CountyNC · 8 reports
St. Mary's CountyMD · 8 reports
Mecklenburg CountyVA · 6 reports
Buckingham CountyVA · 6 reports
Jackson CountyKY · 5 reports
Bladen CountyNC · 5 reports
Rockingham CountyNC · 4 reports
Franklin CountyVA · 4 reports
Leslie CountyKY · 3 reports

Hail and tornadoes that day

13 hail reports, 0 of 2 inches or more; 9 tornadoes.

Largest hail, March 4, 2008

12:15 AM	Harrison County MS	1.75
10:35 PM	Sampson County NC	1.00
4:18 PM	Oglethorpe County GA	0.88
5:15 PM	Wilkes County GA	0.88
1:39 PM	DeKalb County GA	0.75
3:12 PM	Guilford County NC	0.75
3:20 PM	Guilford County NC	0.75
4:45 PM	Greene County GA	0.75
4:48 PM	Greenville County SC	0.75
5:42 PM	McCormick County SC	0.75
6:05 PM	Greenwood County SC	0.75
8:06 PM	Guilford County NC	0.75
8:57 PM	Durham County NC	0.75

EF1 tornado12:49 AM CST
EF1 tornado12:50 AM CST
EF1 tornado3:23 PM CST
EF0 tornado3:42 PM CST
EF0 tornado3:54 PM CST
EF1 tornado3:55 PM CST
EF0 tornado6:19 PM CST
EF0 tornado7:17 PM CST
EF0 tornado7:50 PM CST

2008 · On this date in other years · The biggest severe wind days

A report is a single damage or measurement report to the National Weather Service. Several reports can describe one gust front, so reports are not storms.
Reporting has grown with population, spotter networks and the internet, so counts from different decades are not directly comparable.
Thunderstorm wind reports start at 50 knots (58 mph). SPC began flagging measured against estimated speeds in 2006; earlier reports are shown as estimated.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1955 to 2025. A day is SPC’s calendar date in Central Standard Time; a severe wind day here has 300 or more damaging wind reports, or 15 or more of 75 knots (86 mph) or more.