Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2025

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 56, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 16, 20256 counties in Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 2025, 3:36 PM EDT for 6 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 54 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 16, 2025, 3:36 PM EDT (19:36 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 2025, 4:30 PM EDT
In force: 54 min
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Hail: 1.0 in
Wind: 60.0 mph

Counties Carroll County, VA, City of Galax, VA, Grayson County, VA, Smyth County, VA, Tazewell County, VA, Wythe County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:38 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 16, 11:10 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 141 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: 862 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -221 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1202 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 42 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: -0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 16, 3:27 PM EDT, 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 3:27 PM EDT, 9 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, May 16, 2:58 PM EDT, 38 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 16, 1:14 PM EDT, 2 hours 22 minutes before

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service BLACKSBURG VA
114 PM EDT Fri May 16 2025

VAZ007-010-012-161745-
Tazewell VA-Bland VA-Wythe VA-
114 PM EDT Fri May 16 2025

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT EAST CENTRAL TAZEWELL...BLAND
AND NORTHWESTERN WYTHE COUNTIES THROUGH 145 PM EDT...

At 114 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Suiter, or near Burkes Garden, moving east at 45 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 40 mph and pea size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects.

Locations impacted include...
Bland...
Ceres...
Bastian...
Rocky Gap...
Burkes Garden...
Long Spur...
and Mechanicsburg.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 600 PM EDT for
southwestern Virginia...and southeastern West Virginia.

&&

LAT...LON 3713 8142 3730 8098 3727 8101 3718 8090
      3718 8089 3719 8087 3718 8086 3717 8088
      3715 8086 3712 8089 3711 8093 3705 8090
      3700 8136
TIME...MOT...LOC 1714Z 252DEG 37KT 3710 8128

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH

BMG

Local storm report, May 16, 2:40 PM EDT, 56 minutes before

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Local storm report, May 16, 2:47 PM EDT, 49 minutes before

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Local storm report, May 16, 3:00 PM EDT, 36 minutes before

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Local storm report, May 16, 3:12 PM EDT, 24 minutes before

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Special weather statement, May 16, 3:14 PM EDT, 22 minutes before

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 1:14 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Bland	31 min
May 16, 1:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bland, Smyth, Tazewell, Wythe	59 min
May 16, 2:11 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	RNK	Bland, Craig, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski, Wythe and 1 more	64 min
May 16, 2:57 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bland, Smyth, Tazewell, Wythe	63 min
May 16, 3:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles and 6 more	55 min
May 16, 3:14 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Amherst, City of Buena Vista	16 min
May 16, 3:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bedford, Franklin, Pittsylvania	64 min
May 16, 3:57 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Henry, Pittsylvania, City of Danville, City of Martinsville	20 min
May 16, 4:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Appomattox, Buckingham	33 min
May 16, 4:10 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	RNK	Carroll, Floyd, Franklin, Henry, Patrick, City of Martinsville	65 min
May 16, 4:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Charlotte, Halifax, Henry, Pittsylvania, City of Danville	62 min
May 16, 5:19 PM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Caswell	26 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Virginia, 2025 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2025

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.