Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2024
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 64, NWS Blacksburg, VA
NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 26, 2024, 6:38 PM EDT for 5 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 30 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 26, 2024, 6:38 PM EDT (22:38 UTC)
- Expired
- May 26, 2024, 7:08 PM EDT
- In force
- 30 min
- Issued by
- NWS Blacksburg, VA
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Hail
- 1.0 in
- Wind
- 60.0 mph
Counties Bland County, VA, Grayson County, VA, Smyth County, VA, Tazewell County, VA, Wythe County, VA
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:39 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 1:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 9 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 353 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 253 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -119 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1185 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 62 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 76 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, 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 this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 26, 2:52 PM EDT, 3 hours 46 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 26, 2:52 PM EDT, 3 hours 46 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Blacksburg VA 252 PM EDT Sun May 26 2024 .SYNOPSIS... A series of disturbances will pass across the lower Mid-Atlantic through Monday, triggering rounds of shower and thunderstorm activity ahead of an approaching cold front. The front will pass across the central Appalachians Monday evening, ushering in drier and slightly cooler weather for much of the coming week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH MONDAY/... As of 230 PM EDT Sunday... Key Messages: 1. A line of showers and thunderstorms will arrive from the west this afternoon and evening. Severe Thunderstorm Watch 317 has been issued for the western half of the forecast area. 2. Another line of showers and thunderstorms may arrive early in the morning on Memorial Day, though timing and intensity are less certain. 3. Finally, isolated thunderstorms may be possible Monday afternoon and evening, but confidence is low. An impressive line of severe thunderstorms was moving rapidly through the OH and TN Valleys, and will continue to push east at around 40-50 mph through this evening. Numerous reports of 60+ mph wind gusts have already occurred with this MCS, and there is a near continuous line of storms from Green Bay to Cincinnati to Knoxville at this time. The system may weaken slightly as it encounters the Blue Ridge, and west of here is where the Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued until 9 PM. To the east, still expect storms to move through between 7 to 10 pm. There is a chance the Watch may be expanded downstream to include the Piedmont. Current temperatures were in the 70s and 80s, with dew points in the upper 50s to upper 60s. This has yielded MLCAPEs in the 1500-2500 J/kg range, with DCAPEs maxed out in our northern NC counties around 1100 J/kg. Wind shear in the lower levels is about 30 kts between the surface to 3km, and bulk shear is around 45 kts. Thankfully there is little directional shear, so this does not look like a big tornado day, but spin ups along the front edge of the MCS may turn into brief tornadoes. The main concern here will be damaging winds, heavy downpours leading to localized flooding, and intense lightning. With it being Memorial Day weekend, plenty of people are outside, and we urge you to pay attention to this rapidly evolving weather scenario today and tomorrow. Remember to head indoors and stay away from water when lightning is near, and have multiple ways to get warnings. By 10 pm, the severe threat will temporarily diminish as the line passes out of our area to the east, bringing a brief lull in the organized activity, with only residual showers to contend with. However, decent agreement exists in the rapid update weather forecast models that another line of storms will approach from the west during the predawn hours Monday/Memorial Day and shift east, sweeping east-southeast by mid morning. Finally, there is a chance for some redevelopment of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening Monday, but believe the morning convection may impact and degrade this, so confidence in that is low. Expect early morning lows to start Memorial Day to range from the low to mid 60s, and highs to reach the mid 70s to low 80s for the mountains, and the mid to upper 80s for the Piedmont. Overall confidence in the near term is moderate. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... ... As of 215 PM EDT Sunday... Key Messages: 1: Low chance of lingering storms in the wake of a front Monday night 2: Quiet, breezy, and cool Tuesday onward A front will have mostly made its way through our CWA and into central VA by Monday night. A few lingering post-frontal showers and storms could continue to crop up, but the main line with most of the severe potential will have occurred earlier in the day. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will all have more or less similar weather conditions. Surface high pressure will gradually move down from the western Great Lakes and over the Mid- Atlantic, will suppress precip chances. In the mean time we will be in the western half of a mid- level trough, wherein a few weak embedded shortwaves may pass through. This would only serve to amplify cloud cover in the mountains and perhaps spawn an isolated shower or two. Temps will cool into the 60s for the mountains and mid to upper 70s for the Piedmont. Fairly cool for late May/early June. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... ... As of 230 PM EDT Sunday... Key Messages: 1: Low confidence in timing of next frontal system over the weekend Surface high pressure will remain in control of weather and suppress precip through Saturday. This will keep things cool with light breezes and scattered clouds. The next front could be expected at earliest on Sunday morning. That solution is a bit of an outlier amongst long range models. Most don't have the next front impacting the Mid-Atlantic until late Sunday or into Monday. Also unclear what the potential impacts with this front would be, though given the fact that it is early June, a frontal passage generally includes thunderstorms. && .AVIATION /16Z SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 230 PM EDT Sunday... VFR conditions continue until a line of SHRA/TSRA arrives this afternoon and evening. This line is expected to move rapidly from west to east, and some storms especially along and west of the Blue Ridge are likely to become severe, producing damaging wind gusts, though large hail and an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out also. Downpours and low ceilings will accompany the storms, but are expected to remain temporary, improving as the convection passes. Ceilings improve to VFR for a few hours until another line approaches in the pre-dawn hours. Expect this line to dive SSE or dissipate as the morning goes on, with a return to VFR tomorrow. Severe chances look much lower with this line. SW/S winds turn more westerly tomorrow and become gusty. Also expect erratic gusts in any thunderstorms. EXTENDED AVIATION OUTLOOK... There may be a few storms in the afternoon and evening Monday along an approaching front. However morning thunderstorms may squash this chance, so for now expecting mainly VFR. A front will cross through the area late Monday into early Tuesday, turning winds to the northwest and eventually bringing drier air to much of the area. A low chance for showers and thunderstorms will be possible across WV Tuesday and Wednesday, otherwise VFR. VFR everywhere Thursday. Patchy fog with periods of MVFR/LIFR will be possible in the mornings near mountain and river valleys. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...None. NC...None. WV...None. && SYNOPSIS...NF/SH NEAR TERM...SH/NF SHORT TERM...RAB LONG TERM...RAB AVIATION...SH
Hazardous weather outlook, May 26, 2:04 PM EDT, 4 hours 34 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Blacksburg VA 204 PM EDT Sun May 26 2024 NCZ001>003-018>020-VAZ007-009>013-015-016-WVZ042>044-507-508-271815- Ashe-Alleghany NC-Surry-Watauga-Wilkes-Yadkin-Tazewell-Smyth-Bland- Giles-Wythe-Pulaski-Grayson-Carroll-Mercer-Summers-Monroe- Eastern Greenbrier-Western Greenbrier- 204 PM EDT Sun May 26 2024 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 317 IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT THIS EVENING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north central North Carolina, northwest North Carolina, southwest Virginia and southeast West Virginia. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Severe Thunderstorm Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. There is a slight risk for severe thunderstorms Monday morning and again Monday afternoon. The main hazard with any thunderstorms would be large hail and damaging wind gusts. Locally heavy rainfall will also be possible once again which could result in localized flooding. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures. NCZ004>006-VAZ014-017>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059-271815- Stokes-Rockingham-Caswell-Montgomery-Floyd-Craig-Alleghany VA-Bath- Roanoke-Botetourt-Rockbridge-Patrick-Franklin-Bedford-Amherst-Henry- Pittsylvania-Campbell-Appomattox-Buckingham-Halifax-Charlotte- 204 PM EDT Sun May 26 2024 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north central North Carolina, central Virginia, south central Virginia, southwest Virginia and west central Virginia. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. There is a marginal to slight risk for severe thunderstorms this afternoon and tonight. The main hazard with any thunderstorms would be damaging winds gusts and large hail. Locally heavy rainfall is also possible which could result in localized flooding. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. There is a slight risk for severe thunderstorms Monday morning and again Monday afternoon. The main hazard with any thunderstorms would be large hail and damaging wind gusts. Locally heavy rainfall will also be possible once again which could result in localized flooding. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed.
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 26, 6:17 PM EDT, 21 minutes before
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</html>The office that day
Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 4:07 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Bland, Grayson, Smyth, Tazewell, Wythe | 68 min |
| May 26, 4:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Grayson | 65 min |
| May 26, 4:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Bland, Carroll, Giles, Grayson, Pulaski, Smyth and 3 more | 74 min |
| May 26, 4:57 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RNK | Bedford | 33 min |
| May 26, 5:28 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Alleghany, Bath, Craig, Giles, City of Covington | 77 min |
| May 26, 5:35 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Botetourt, Carroll, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles and 7 more | 55 min |
| May 26, 5:38 PM EDT | Areal Flood Advisory | RNK | Grayson | 4 hr |
| May 26, 5:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Carroll, Floyd, Franklin, Grayson, Patrick, Pulaski and 2 more | 65 min |
| May 26, 6:17 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Alleghany, Amherst, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt, Craig and 4 more | 73 min |
| May 26, 6:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Amherst, Bedford, Campbell, Franklin, Pittsylvania, Roanoke and 3 more | 66 min |
| May 26, 6:28 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RNK | Smyth | 32 min |
| May 26, 6:31 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Carroll, Floyd, Franklin, Patrick | 32 min |
| May 26, 7:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RNK | Amherst, Appomattox, Buckingham, Campbell, Charlotte, Halifax and 3 more | 96 min |
| May 26, 4:17 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RNK | Ashe | 28 min |
| May 26, 5:37 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RNK | Watauga | 23 min |
| May 26, 6:37 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | RNK | Alleghany | 38 min |
| May 26, 6:43 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Alleghany, Ashe, Surry | 6 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 2024Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2024
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.