Alert archive / Virginia / High Wind Watches in 2026

High Wind Watch 1, NWS Blacksburg, VA

February 5, 202626 counties in Virginia; 5 counties in North Carolina

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this high wind watch at Feb 5, 2026, 12:41 PM EST for 26 counties in Virginia; 5 counties in North Carolina. It took effect at Feb 6, 2026, 7:00 PM EST. It was in force for .

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Feb 5, 2026, 12:41 PM EST (17:41 UTC)
In effect from: Feb 6, 2026, 7:00 PM EST
Expired: Feb 6, 2026, 1:20 AM EST
In force
Issued by: NWS Blacksburg, VA

All 31 counties

Alleghany County, NC, Ashe County, NC, Surry County, NC, Watauga County, NC, Wilkes County, NC, Alleghany County, VA, Amherst County, VA, Bath County, VA, Bedford County, VA, Bland County, VA, Botetourt County, VA, Carroll County, VA, City of Buena Vista, VA, City of Covington, VA, City of Galax, VA, City of Lexington, VA, City of Radford, VA, City of Roanoke, VA, City of Salem, VA, Craig County, VA, Floyd County, VA, Franklin County, VA, Giles County, VA, Grayson County, VA, Montgomery County, VA, Patrick County, VA, Pulaski County, VA, Roanoke County, VA, Rockbridge County, VA, Smyth County, VA, Wythe County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 15 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:44 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 nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 12:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 80 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 604 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 10 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this high wind watch 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 high wind watch went out at Feb 5, 2:03 AM EST, 10 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 5, 2:03 AM EST, 10 hours 38 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 5, 9:57 AM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 5, 9:28 AM EST, 3 hours 13 minutes before

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Local storm report, Feb 5, 9:43 AM EST, 2 hours 58 minutes before

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Local storm report, Feb 5, 10:24 AM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes before

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Local storm report, Feb 5, 12:00 PM EST, 41 minutes before

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Local storm report, Feb 5, 12:02 PM EST, 39 minutes before

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Local storm report, Feb 5, 12:03 PM EST, 38 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
Feb 5, 12:40 PM EST	Winter Weather Advisory	RNK	Alleghany, Bath, Bland, Craig, Giles, Grayson and 3 more	44 hr
Feb 5, 12:41 PM EST	Extreme Cold Warning	RNK	Bath	66 hr
Feb 5, 12:40 PM EST	Winter Storm Warning	RNK	Greenbrier	44 hr

Nearby

High Wind Watches in Virginia, 2026 High Wind Watches in North Carolina, 2026 Every high wind watch in 2026

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.