Dust Devil, Halifax
- When
- April 30, 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Halifax County, Halifax
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 36.767, -78.937 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Dust Devil in Virginia, April 30, 2002
An intense dust devil violently blew around debris and broke out windows in 3 vehicles in an office parking lot.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
An intense dust devil violently blew around debris and broke out windows in 3 vehicles in an office parking lot.
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 Apr 30, 9:08 AM EST, 4 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 9:08 AM EST, 4 hours 52 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA 1008 AM EDT TUE APR 30 2002 STARTING OFF SUNNY ACROSS THE FA...AND MODEL TRENDS ARE SLOWING DOWN INCREASE IN MOISTURE THIS AFTN. THEREFORE...WILL BACK OFF ON INCREASING THE CLDS...AND GO MORE OPTIMISTIC WITH SKY WORDING. TEMPS APPEAR IN LINE WITH CURRENT FORECASTS...SO DO NOT PLAN ON CHANGING THEM. WILL ALSO SLOW DOWN ONSET OF RAIN TONIGHT...GIVEN LATEST GUIDANCE. .RNK... NC...NONE. VA...NONE. WV...NONE. WHP
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Dust Devil
- A small rotating column of dust from surface heating that caused damage or injury.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 30, 2002
- Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, April 30, 2002
- Hail in Alabama, April 30, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, April 30, 2002
- High Wind in Alaska, April 30, 2002
- Wildfire in Colorado, April 30, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Mississippi, April 30, 2002
- Flash Flood in Alabama, April 30, 2002
- Hail in Missouri, April 30, 2002
- Hail in Missouri, April 30, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, April 30, 2002
- Flood in Puerto Rico, April 30, 2002
More
Every storm in Virginia in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, April 2002
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: 5292436.