Winston-Salem, NC Hail Storm – August 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on August 1, 2025, with 1-inch hail verified in six NWS alerts from 3:07 PM to 7:13 PM EDT. The storm stayed active through the afternoon and into the evening, with radar and spotter verification repeated across the event.

The first alert came at 3:07 PM EDT with 1-inch hail and radar plus spotter verification. Two more followed at 3:26 PM and 3:57 PM EDT, also carrying radar and spotter confidence. Later alerts at 4:37 PM and 4:49 PM EDT were driven by dual-polarization radar hail detection, then the final alert at 7:13 PM EDT again returned to radar and spotter verification.

Field reports came in during the same window. At 2:58 PM EDT, a spotter reported one tree down near the 2400 block of Rockford Road. By 3:44 PM EDT, thunderstorm winds had blown down a power line on the 3200 block of Blankenship Road. At 3:47 PM EDT, reports noted trees and power lines down. A 3:55 PM EDT report placed a tree down along US 421 near mile marker 244.

Reports continued through late afternoon. At 4:00 PM EDT, tree and utility line damage was causing a power outage along Underpass Road. At 4:15 PM EDT, a tree was reported down on Hepler Drive. At 4:18 PM EDT, another tree was down on Hillcrest Drive. At 4:20 PM EDT, emergency management reported numerous downed trees and a power line across the city and county, along with a tree onto a mobile home. By 4:55 PM EDT, Cranford Road was blocked by downed trees, and at 5:04 PM EDT a tree was reported on a house off Long Ferry Road.

Damage Assessment

The surface impact in Winston-Salem centered on trees, power lines, outages, and road blockages. The reports point to scattered but repeatable wind damage across the city and nearby county areas, with multiple calls for downed trees on Rockford Road, Hillcrest Drive, Hepler Drive, and Cranford Road. Utility impacts were confirmed on Blankenship Road and Underpass Road, where line damage and outage reports came in during the same period.

US 421 near mile marker 244 also had a tree down, adding a roadway obstruction to the broader utility and tree damage pattern. The report from emergency management at 4:20 PM EDT described numerous downed trees and a power line across the city and county, plus a tree onto a mobile home. The Long Ferry Road report placed a tree on a house, which adds a direct structure impact to the event.

The timing of the reports tracks closely with the hail alerts and the repeat severe thunderstorm warnings. Several of the field reports came in between 3:44 PM and 4:20 PM EDT, with additional damage still being reported after 5 PM EDT. The sequence shows a storm complex that produced both hail and enough wind to bring down trees and lines across multiple parts of the metro.

What Contractors Should Know

This event spread work across a wide part of Winston-Salem rather than one isolated corridor. Crews should expect tree cleanup, roof checks, gutter inspections, and utility-related calls near Rockford Road, Blankenship Road, Underpass Road, Hillcrest Drive, Hepler Drive, Cranford Road, and Long Ferry Road. The house strike on Long Ferry Road and the mobile home impact mentioned by emergency management merit separate residential inspections, not just general debris removal.