Alert archive / Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 2021

Tornado Warning 28, NWS Blacksburg, VA

August 31, 2021Amherst County, Rockbridge County, City of Buena Vista, Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at Aug 31, 2021, 10:44 PM EDT for Amherst County, Rockbridge County, City of Buena Vista, Virginia. It was in force for 31 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Aug 31, 2021, 10:44 PM EDT (02:44 UTC)
Expired: Aug 31, 2021, 11:15 PM EDT
In force: 31 min
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 0.75 in

Counties Amherst County, VA, City of Buena Vista, VA, Rockbridge County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:45 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 31, 7:36 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 75 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 319 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -23 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 782 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 122 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 133 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

072 
WFUS51 KRNK 010244
TORRNK
VAC009-163-530-010315-
/O.NEW.KRNK.TO.W.0028.210901T0244Z-210901T0315Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service BLACKSBURG VA
1044 PM EDT Tue Aug 31 2021

The National Weather Service in BLACKSBURG has issued a

* Tornado Warning for...
  The City of Buena Vista in west central Virginia...
  Northeastern Rockbridge County in west central Virginia...
  Northwestern Amherst County in central Virginia...

* Until 1115 PM EDT.
    
* At 1044 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a
  tornado was located over Buena Vista, moving north at 30 mph.

  HAZARD...Tornado.

  SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.

  IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without 
           shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. 
           Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur.  Tree 
           damage is likely.

* Locations impacted include...
  Buena Vista...
  Cornwall...
  Alto...
  Fairfield...
  Oronoco...
  Brownsburg...
  and Vesuvius.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest
floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a
mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter
and protect yourself from flying debris.

Tornadoes are extremely difficult to see and confirm at night. Do not
wait to see or hear the tornado. TAKE COVER NOW!

Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to
flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways.

When it is safe to do so, please send your reports of hail of any
size, as well as reports of any wind damage, including downed trees
or large limbs, to the National Weather Service by calling toll free
at 1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4. Reports and pictures can also be
shared on the National Weather Service Blacksburg Facebook page and
on Twitter.

&&

LAT...LON 3792 7919 3787 7915 3785 7914 3765 7932
      3767 7940 3803 7939
TIME...MOT...LOC 0244Z 199DEG 24KT 3771 7936 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN

$$

WP

2 follow-up statements

984 
WWUS51 KRNK 010253
SVSRNK

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service BLACKSBURG VA
1053 PM EDT Tue Aug 31 2021

VAC009-163-530-010315-
/O.CON.KRNK.TO.W.0028.000000T0000Z-210901T0315Z/
City of Buena Vista VA-Rockbridge VA-Amherst VA-
1053 PM EDT Tue Aug 31 2021

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1115 PM EDT FOR 
NORTHEASTERN ROCKBRIDGE AND NORTHWESTERN AMHERST COUNTIES AND THE
CITY OF BUENA VISTA...
    
At 1053 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located over Buena Vista, moving northeast at 25 mph.

HAZARD...Tornado.

SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.

IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without 
         shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage 
         to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur.  Tree damage is 
         likely.

Locations impacted include...
Buena Vista...
Cornwall...
Fairfield...
Brownsburg...
Vesuvius...
Alto...
and Oronoco.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest
floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a
mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter
and protect yourself from flying debris.

Tornadoes are extremely difficult to see and confirm at night. Do not
wait to see or hear the tornado. TAKE COVER NOW!

Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to
flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways.

When it is safe to do so, please send your reports of hail of any
size, as well as reports of any wind damage, including downed trees
or large limbs, to the National Weather Service by calling toll free
at 1...8 6 6...2 1 5...4 3 2 4. Reports and pictures can also be
shared on the National Weather Service Blacksburg Facebook page and
on Twitter.

&&

LAT...LON 3792 7919 3787 7915 3785 7914 3770 7931
      3770 7938 3803 7939
TIME...MOT...LOC 0253Z 210DEG 21KT 3774 7931 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<.75 IN

$$

WP

578 
WWUS51 KRNK 010314
SVSRNK

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service BLACKSBURG VA
1114 PM EDT Tue Aug 31 2021

VAC009-163-530-010324-
/O.EXP.KRNK.TO.W.0028.000000T0000Z-210901T0315Z/
City of Buena Vista VA-Rockbridge VA-Amherst VA-
1114 PM EDT Tue Aug 31 2021

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR 
NORTHEASTERN ROCKBRIDGE AND NORTHWESTERN AMHERST COUNTIES AND THE
CITY OF BUENA VISTA WILL EXPIRE AT 1115 PM EDT...
                
The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe
limits, and no longer appears capable of producing a tornado.
Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire.  However heavy rain
is still possible with this thunderstorm.

A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 300 AM EDT for central, south
central and west central Virginia.

LAT...LON 3792 7919 3787 7915 3785 7914 3770 7931
      3770 7938 3803 7939
TIME...MOT...LOC 0314Z 199DEG 24KT 3786 7926 

$$

WP

The office that day

Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 31, 8:00 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	RNK	Craig, Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, City of Radford	5 hr
Aug 31, 8:26 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Craig, Roanoke, City of Roanoke, City of Salem	34 min
Aug 31, 8:40 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	RNK	Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Montgomery and 3 more	3 hr
Aug 31, 8:43 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Craig	32 min
Aug 31, 9:12 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Botetourt	33 min
Aug 31, 9:18 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Alleghany, City of Covington	27 min
Aug 31, 9:35 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Bedford, Botetourt	25 min
Aug 31, 9:44 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	RNK	Botetourt, Craig, Roanoke	5 hr
Aug 31, 9:47 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Alleghany, Bath, City of Covington	28 min
Aug 31, 9:58 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	RNK	Bedford, Botetourt, Rockbridge	32 min
Aug 31, 10:26 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Rockbridge, City of Buena Vista, City of Lexington	34 min
Aug 31, 10:30 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Botetourt	30 min
Aug 31, 10:32 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	RNK	Bedford, Botetourt, Rockbridge	3 hr
Aug 31, 11:10 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	RNK	Amherst, Rockbridge, City of Buena Vista, City of Lexington	3 hr
Aug 31, 11:17 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	City of Buena Vista	28 min
Sep 1, 12:38 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Rockbridge	22 min
Sep 1, 5:29 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	RNK	Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, Roanoke	3 hr
Sep 1, 7:27 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Campbell, Pittsylvania, City of Danville, City of Lynchburg	48 min
Sep 1, 7:54 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Amherst, City of Lynchburg	51 min
Sep 1, 8:43 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Amherst	32 min
Sep 1, 9:17 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	RNK	Franklin	118 min
Sep 1, 11:38 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Floyd, Roanoke, City of Roanoke, City of Salem	22 min
Sep 1, 11:59 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	City of Roanoke, City of Salem	46 min
Sep 1, 12:06 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	RNK	Carroll, Floyd, Franklin, Montgomery, Patrick, Roanoke and 1 more	3 hr
Sep 1, 3:47 PM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	RNK	Patrick	2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Virginia, 2021 Every tornado warning in 2021 Tornadoes in 2021

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.