Alert archive / Virginia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2025

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 63, NWS Blacksburg, VA

May 17, 20254 counties in Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 2025, 2:50 AM EDT for 4 counties in Virginia. It was in force for 40 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 17, 2025, 2:50 AM EDT (06:50 UTC)
Expired: May 17, 2025, 3:30 AM EDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA
Area: Storm-based polygon
Hail: 1.0 in
Wind: 60.0 mph

Counties Bland County, VA, Smyth County, VA, Tazewell County, VA, Wythe County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 93 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:49 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, 11:32 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 00:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 346 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: 1419 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -64 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1215 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 194 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 182 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.3
Supercell composite: 7.9

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, 5:07 PM EDT, 9 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 5:07 PM EDT, 9 hours 43 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, May 16, 5:46 PM EDT, 9 hours 4 minutes before

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      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
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        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
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        Please try again in a few minutes.
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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 17, 2:08 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Alleghany, City of Covington	22 min
May 17, 2:29 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Bland, Giles, Tazewell	31 min
May 17, 3:03 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Botetourt	12 min
May 17, 3:20 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Grayson, Wythe	10 min
May 17, 3:32 AM EDT	Areal Flood Advisory	RNK	Bland, Giles, Smyth, Tazewell, Wythe	114 min
May 17, 4:05 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Franklin	10 min
May 17, 4:11 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Bedford, Franklin, Henry, Pittsylvania	49 min
May 17, 4:00 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Ashe	15 min
May 17, 4:22 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Surry, Wilkes	23 min
May 17, 4:51 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Yadkin	24 min
May 17, 12:13 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Greenbrier	32 min
May 17, 12:50 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Greenbrier	10 min
May 17, 12:57 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RNK	Greenbrier	63 min
May 17, 1:15 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Summers	15 min
May 17, 1:18 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Mercer	27 min
May 17, 1:43 AM EDT	Special Weather Statement	RNK	Summers	32 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.