Alert archive / Virginia / Winter Storm Warnings in 2026

Winter Storm Warning 4, NWS Blacksburg, VA

February 21, 2026Grayson County, Smyth County, Tazewell County, Virginia; Ashe County, Watauga County, North Carolina; Greenbrier County, Mercer County, Summers County, West Virginia

NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this winter storm warning at Feb 21, 2026, 1:59 PM EST for Grayson County, Smyth County, Tazewell County, Virginia; Ashe County, Watauga County, North Carolina; Greenbrier County, Mercer County, Summers County, West Virginia. It took effect at Feb 22, 2026, 1:00 AM EST. It was in force for 52 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Feb 21, 2026, 1:59 PM EST (18:59 UTC)
In effect from
Feb 22, 2026, 1:00 AM EST
Expired
Feb 24, 2026, 5:00 AM EST
In force
52 hr
Issued by
NWS Blacksburg, VA

Counties Ashe County, NC, Watauga County, NC, Grayson County, VA, Smyth County, VA, Tazewell County, VA, Greenbrier County, WV, Mercer County, WV, Summers County, WV

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:59 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, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 156 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2026-02-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Roanoke, VA at 12:00Z on 2026-02-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 11 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
2567 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
95 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-77 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 winter storm 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 winter storm warning went out at Feb 21, 6:28 AM EST, 7 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 21, 6:28 AM EST, 7 hours 31 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 21, 3:21 AM EST, 10 hours 38 minutes before
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  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 21, 1:59 PM ESTWinter Weather AdvisoryRNKAmherst, Bath, Bland, Giles, Grayson, Rockbridge and 3 more63 hr

Nearby

Winter Storm Warnings in Virginia, 2026Winter Storm Warnings in West Virginia, 2026Winter Storm Warnings in North Carolina, 2026Every winter storm warning 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.