Heavy Snow and High Wind in Virginia, March 6, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow and High Wind in Virginia, March 6, 2001
Start: 2001-03-06T02:00
End: 2001-03-06T18:00
Location: Virginia

March 6, 2001 · NWS RNK · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

High winds from the morning through the evening of the 6th downed trees and power lines across Grayson, Carroll, and Patrick counties. In Carroll County, high winds also blew a wall in and partially collapsed a roof on an automobile repair shop.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $80,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.

Heavy snow during the 6th accumulated from 6 to 10 inches across the higher elevations of Tazewell and Grayson counties.High winds from the morning through the evening of the 6th downed trees and power lines across Grayson, Carroll, and Patrick counties. In Carroll County, high winds also blew a wall in and partially collapsed a roof on an automobile repair shop. A car in the shop was also damaged. In Patrick County a country store had its roof and porch damaged.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Mar 5, 9:00 PM EST, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 5, 9:00 PM EST, 5 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
900 PM EST MON MAR 5 2001

ACCUMULATING SNOW SHOWERS HAVE FINALLY MOVED INTO ALL OF THE
COUNTIES UNDER WARNINGS...EVEN SOME FURTHER EAST. HAVE TOYED WITH
THE IDEA OF AN ADVISORY FOR THE BLUE RIDGE WEST TO THE WESTERN
SLOPES AREAS...BUT STILL FEEL LIKE MOST AREAS WILL ONLY SEE AN INCH
OR SO. ESPECIALLY SINCE IT LOOKS LIKE THERE WILL BE A BREAK EAST OF
THE WESTERN SLOPES BEHIND THIS BAND ALONG THE WV/VA BORDER. SEEMS TO
BE ASSOC WITH A VORT LOBE AHEAD OF THE UPPER LOW IN NORTH CENTRAL
OH.  WILL MAKE ONLY MINOR CHANGES TO SNOWFALL AMOUNTS IN THE WARNING
AREAS BASED ON REPORTS SO FAR...SEE BELOW.  WILL LOWER MIN TEMPS
MOST LOCATIONS ONE CATEGORY BASED ON CURRENT OBS AND 18Z M-ETA
BUFKIT SOUNDINGS.

SNOWFALL THROUGH 830 PM
WV
GREENBRIER COUNTY...5 TO 6 INCHES MARFRANCE 3 INCHES LEONARD/CORDOVA
                     1 TO 2 INCHES ASBURY
SUMMERS COUNTY...GENERALLY AROUND AN INCH
MERCER COUNTY...3 INCHES MATOAKA  1 INCH PRINCETON
MONROE COUNTY...AROUND 1/2 INCH COUNTYWIDE

VA
TAZEWELL COUNTY...1 1/2 INCHES NEAR TAZEWELL

NC
WATAUGA COUNTY...2 TO 3 INCHES BEECH MTN  1/2 INCH IN BOONE

.RNK...
NC...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT NCZ001-018
     WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT AND TUESDAY NCZ001>006-018>020
VA...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT VAZ007-009-015
     WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT AND TUESDAY
     VAZ007-009>020-022>02C4-032>035-043>047-058-059.
WV...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT WVZ042-043-045
     WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT AND TUESDAY WVZ042>045.

06

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 high wind, 2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Tazewell

When: March 6, 2:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Tazewell forecast zone
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 37.125, -81.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Grayson

When: March 6, 2:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Grayson forecast zone
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 36.657, -81.225 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Patrick

When: March 6, 2:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Patrick forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.678, -80.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Grayson

When: March 6, 5:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Grayson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.657, -81.225 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Carroll

When: March 6, 5:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Carroll forecast zone
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.697, -80.829 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Virginia in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Virginia, March 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5235456, 5235457, 5235460, 5235458, 5235459.