Winston-Salem, NC Hail Storm – May 2025

What Happened

A severe storm moved through Winston-Salem, NC, on 2025-05-21 and produced 1-inch hail. The NWS alert area carried radar and spotter-verified confidence, with verified ground reports coming in minutes after 1:21 AM EDT.

Spotters first reported a tree down on Cannon Ave. at 1:22 AM EDT. Two more reports followed before 1:40 AM EDT, including trees down on power equipment at 1:35 AM EDT and a tree down on powerlines at 1:36 AM EDT. Each report was spotter-verified and placed the worst impacts inside the same overnight storm window.

The sequence points to a compact severe storm crossing the metro before daybreak. The alert area covered the broader path. The field reports narrowed the impact to a smaller corridor where trees and utility exposure took the brunt of the wind and hail.

Damage Assessment

The verified ground reports show a limited but real impact profile in Winston-Salem. The main issues were trees down on Cannon Ave. and on powerlines and power equipment elsewhere in the metro. No widespread damage pattern appears in the reports provided, and the listed impacts stayed tied to exposed roadside and utility-adjacent spots.

The report timing matters. The 1:22 AM EDT tree report came almost immediately after the severe alert, followed by two more spotter-verified entries at 1:35 AM EDT and 1:36 AM EDT. That clustering indicates a short-lived but concentrated burst of severe weather rather than a long-duration event.

Hail size in the alert reached 1 inch. The spotter reports listed 0.75-inch observations alongside the tree damage. That mix suggests the storm had enough intensity to produce severe hail and enough wind to bring down trees and contact power infrastructure in parts of the city.

For property owners, the first places to check are roof edges, soft metals, HVAC fins, skylight flashing, gutters, and the tree line near service drops. In this event, the field reports point to fast-moving impacts near streets and utility corridors, not a broad area of scattered loss across the whole metro.

What Contractors Should Know

This was an overnight storm in a dense metro area. That changes the work. Crews should expect limited daylight for initial access, scattered debris from downed trees, and utility concerns around the same streets where spotter reports were filed. Cannon Ave. and the reported powerline and power equipment locations are the type of sites that often need a first-pass safety check before roof or fascia work begins.

For hail inspections, start with the usual strike surfaces, but do not assume uniform damage across Winston-Salem. Focus on the path nearest the verified reports, then work outward. Look for collateral issues tied to the same event, including broken limbs on roofs, gutter deformation, and impact marks on soft metals. In a 1-inch hail storm with spotter-verified tree damage, the roof call is only part of the job.