Scattered thunderstorms developed over parts of southwest Virginia the afternoon of July 11. One of these storms reached severe levels and produced damaging thunderstorms winds.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.
Scattered thunderstorms developed over parts of southwest Virginia the afternoon of July 11. One of these storms reached severe levels and produced damaging thunderstorms winds.
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 Jul 11, 3:10 PM EST, 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 410 PM EDT SAT JUL 11 2009 .SYNOPSIS... SCATTERED SHOWERS ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT DROPPING SOUTHEAST FROM THE OHIO VALLEY. MORE ORGANIZED STORMS ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE FRONT TONIGHT...MOVING FROM THE NORTHWEST AND PUSHING INTO OUR SOUTHEAST CWA ON SUNDAY. THE FRONT STALLS OUT JUST TO OUR SOUTH LATE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY WHICH WILL KEEP CHANCES FOR RAIN MAINLY IN THE SOUTH. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SUNDAY/... DEALING WITH ONGOING CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON AS NUMEROUS STRONG TO OCCASIONALLY SEVERE PULSE STORMS HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE WARM AND HUMID AIR MASS WITH VARIOUS INTERSECTING OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES MAKING FOR A FAIRLY BUSY SHIFT AT LEAST MONITORING STORMS. PSBL SVR THREAT LIKELY TO PERSIST SEVERAL MORE HOURS AS LAPS CAPES SHOW 2000+ J/KG OVER MUCH OF THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN CWA. IN ADDITION FLASH FLOOD THREAT EXISTS WITH FAIRLY SLOW MOVING STORMS AND SURFACE DEWPOINTS UPPER 60S TO LOW 70S SE. MAIN SYNOPTIC BOUNDARY STILL WELL TO THE NW OVER THE OH VALLEY AND THIS FRONT WILL MAKE SLOW PROGRESS TO THE SOUTHEAST WITH STORMS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE BOUNDARY. WITH DECENT HEIGHT FALLS TO THE NORTH THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH IMPETUS TO SHOVE THE BOUNDARY THRU TO AT LEAST NC SO QPF AMOUNTS ARE NOT FORECAST TO BE VERY HEAVY...GENERALLY IN THE 0.25 TO 0.50 INCH RANGE OVER OUR NORTHWEST AND LESS THAN 0.10 INCH IN THE SOUTHEAST...WHERE THERE MAY BE LITTLE IF ANY RAINFALL. FRONT IS THRU MOST OF THE CWA BY MIDDAY SUNDAY AND STALLS OUT JUST TO OUR SOUTHEAST OR IN FAR NW NC AND EVEN STARTS TO RETURN NW OVER THE TN VALLEY LATE IN THE DAY. MORE SHOWERS COULD DEVELOP ALONG THE STALLED BOUNDARY IN THE AFTERNOON SO KEPT CHANCE POPS AND HIGHEST IN THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST CWA. TEMPS MILD OVERNIGHT WITH CLOUD COVER AND NEAR SEASONAL TOMORROW. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL GET HUNG UP ACROSS NORTHERN NC SUNDAY NIGHT AS NEXT MID LEVEL S/W APPROACHES FROM THE NW. GFS LOOKS TO HAVE TOO MUCH LIFT WITH ANOTHER VORT AHEAD OF THE MAIN WAVE THAT OTHER GUIDANCE BRINGS ESE THRU THE CAROLINAS ON MONDAY. THEREFORE WILL TREND TOWARD MAINLY CHANCE POPS ESPCLY SOUTHERN AND WESTERN ZONES SUNDAY NIGHT AS BACKING OVERRUNS THE RESIDUAL FRONT AHEAD OF THE WAVE. MAIN QUESTION IS HOW FAR SOUTH MAIN CORRIDOR OF LIFT WILL SET UP ON MONDAY IN RESPONSE TO SURFACE WAVE MOVING THRU AND ASSOCIATED MCS TYPE FEATURE. WILL AGAIN LEAN TOWARD THE SOUTHERN TRACK OF THE 12Z ECMWF...BRINGING AXIS OF DEEER RH ACROSS THE FAR SOUTHERN ZONES AND POINTS SOUTH. COULD SEE A GRADIENT FROM HIGH CHANCE/LOW LIKELY POPS EXTREME SOUTH TO MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES NORTH ON MONDAY BUT STILL TOO IFFY TO CALL ATTM. ALSO IF A STRONGER MCS DEVELOPS TO THE WEST MOISTURE COULD GET CUT OFF WITH MOST QPF TO THE SW PER LATEST HPC DAY2. FOR NOW WILL RUN CLOSE TO PREVIOUS TRENDS AND KEEP SOME POP MENTION ALL ZONES INTO LATE MONDAY BEFORE TAPERING OFF FROM NW TO SE MONDAY NIGHT AS THE WAVE PRESSES THE FRONT SOUTH. FOLLOWED CLOSER TO SLIGHTLY WARMER MAV TEMPS SINCE APPEARS THE NAM IS TOO FAR NORTH && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... INITIAL COLD FRONT SHOULD BE WELL SE OF THE AREA TUESDAY/TUESDAY NIGHT AS 5H TROF LIFTS OUT WITH WEAK HIGH PRESSURE IN PLACE. FAST ZONAL FLOW THEN DEVELOPS MIDWEEK IN BETWEEN EXITING TROF AND NEXT PIECE OF UPSTREAM ENERGY ROUNDING THE SOUTHERN UPPER RIDGE. THIS IN COMBO WITH RETURN FLOW SHOULD PROPEL THE FRONT BACK NE AS A WARM FRONT WED AHEAD OF THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT TIMED TO ARRIVE THU INTO THU NIGHT. LOOKS LIKE BEST LIFT/MOISTURE WILL BE TO THE NW WITH THE WARM FRONT...THEN ACROSS THE WEST WITH A POSSIBLE PRE-FRONTAL BAND OF SHRA/TSRA WED NIGHT INTO EARLY THU. THUS INCLUDING A RETURN ON ONLY LOW POPS MAINLY WEST WED/WED NIGHT AND MAINLY DRY TO SLIGHT POPS PIEDMONT. FRONT MAY JUMP TO RESIDUAL LEE TROF ON THU WITH THE AMOUNT OF W/NW WIND A QUESTION TO CONVECTIVE COVERAGE. MOST MODEL GUIDANCE OUTSIDE OF THE WETTER CANADIAN HAS MOST QPF TO THE SOUTH THU INTO THU NIGHT WHICH LOOKS TOO DRY ATTM. THINK BEST TO KEEP LOW/MID CHANCE POPS MOST SECTIONS FOR NOW AND SEE HOW LATER RUNS TREND. MORE S/W ENERGY WILL DROP SE INTO THE 5H TROF BY THE WEEKEND AND ATTEMPT TO CLOSE OFF ANOTHER UPPER COLD POOL ACROSS THE NE U.S AS SEEN MANY TIMES OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS. THIS MAY DEVELOP MORE WAVES ALONG THE FRONT TO THE SOUTH FRI-SAT ESPCLY AS THE TROF AXIS REMAINS JUST TO OUR WEST. THINK COMBO OF SOME INCREASED LOW LEVEL RH ESPCLY EAST AND COOLING ALOFT WILL LEAD TO ADDED SHRA/TSRA CHANCES BY SAT AFTER A BRIEF LULL WEST FRIDAY. TEMPS WILL FINALLY GET A BOOST MIDWEEK IN RESPONSE TO HIGHER HEIGHTS AND DEEPER WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. APPEARS COULD PUSH THE MID 90S EAST BY THU AND CLOSE TO 90 WEST UNDER +23C 85H READINGS PENDING CONVECTION. READINGS THEN SLIDE BACK TO BELOW NORMAL VALEUS TO END THE WEEK BEHIND THE FRONT IN WEAK NE FLOW AND ADDED CLOUDS. && .AVIATION /20Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... SCATTERED TRW POPPING UP ACROSS THE AREA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON MAINLY IN ASSOCIATION WITH SURFACE HEATING AND VARIOUS OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES FROM PREVIOUS CONVECTION. MAY AFFECT TAF SITES WITH BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...LOWER VSBY/CIGS FOR SHORT PERIODS BUT DIFFICULT TO TIME SUCH PULSE STORMS AT ANY ONE LOCATION. PREVAILING CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING SHOULD BE VFR FOR THE MOST PART WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SUCH PULSE ACTIVITY. COLD FRONT IN THE OHIO VALLEY TODAY APPROACHES THIS EVENING WITH WEST-SOUTHWEST LOW LEVEL WIND FLOW THIS AFTERNOON AND THEN A BETTER CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL COME WITH AS THE FRONT DROPS SOUTHEAST INTO THE AREA TONIGHT. BEST CHANCE FOR VCTS IN THE TAF PLACED FOR SEVERAL HOUR AT KLWB...KBLF AND KROA. LOWER CONFIDENCE FOR PRECIP AT KLYH/KDAN. ON SUNDAY...COLD FRONT WILL BE OVER THE AREA AND WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS/TSTMS...BUT MAINLY ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE MOUNTAINS...SO THE SITE WITH THE BEST CHC TO BE AFFECTED WILL BE BLF. ANY STORMS SUNDAY COULD BE QUITE STRONG WITH GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS. MONDAY...SHOWERS/TSTMS MAY BE WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE AREA SINCE THE FRONT IS EXPECT TO STALL AND MAY BECOME THE FOCUS FOR A WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE TO RIPPLE EAST ALONG THE FRONT INCREASING DEEP CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL. && .HYDROLOGY... SCATTERED STRONG STORMS ARE PRODUCING POCKETS OF HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE CWA. CURRENTLY MONITORING SURRY COUNTY NC WHERE SMALL BASIN RAINFALL IS NEAR OR EXCEEDING 2 INCHES A FEW HOURS AND ALSO PARTS OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. STORMS ARE SLOW-MOVING AND DRAWING ON FAIRLY SATURATED AIR MASS..MORNING PWAT AT RNK WAS 1.44 INCHES AND 1.63 INCHES AT GSO...WHICH IS ROUGHLY 120 PERCENT OF NORMAL. WITH ADDITONAL SHOWERS ALONG THE FRONT LATER TONIGHT THE FF THREAT COULD BE RENEWED IN A FEW AREAS. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...NONE. NC...NONE. WV...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...PM NEAR TERM...PC SHORT TERM...JH LONG TERM...JH AVIATION...PC HYDROLOGY...PC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 506 AM EDT SAT JUL 11 2009 NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ007-009>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059- WVZ042>045-120915- ASHE-ALLEGHANY NC-SURRY-STOKES-ROCKINGHAM-CASWELL-WATAUGA-WILKES- YADKIN-TAZEWELL-SMYTH-BLAND-GILES-WYTHE-PULASKI-MONTGOMERY-GRAYSON- CARROLL-FLOYD-CRAIG-ALLEGHANY VA-BATH-ROANOKE-BOTETOURT-ROCKBRIDGE- PATRICK-FRANKLIN-BEDFORD-AMHERST-HENRY-PITTSYLVANIA-CAMPBELL- APPOMATTOX-BUCKINGHAM-HALIFAX-CHARLOTTE-MERCER-SUMMERS-MONROE- GREENBRIER- 506 AM EDT SAT JUL 11 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA...WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
306 PM EDT SAT JUL 11 2009
NCZ003>005-019-020-VAZ032>034-043-044-112000-
BEDFORD VA-FRANKLIN VA-HENRY VA-PATRICK VA-PITTSYLVANIA VA-
ROCKINGHAM NC-STOKES NC-SURRY NC-WILKES NC-YADKIN NC-
306 PM EDT SAT JUL 11 2009
...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT BEDFORD...CITY OF DANVILLE...CITY
OF MARTINSVILLE...FRANKLIN...HENRY...PATRICK...PITTSYLVANIA...
ROCKINGHAM...STOKES...SURRY...WILKES AND YADKIN COUNTIES...
AT 305 PM EDT...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE SCATTERED ALONG AND
SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM 4 MILES NORTHEAST OF PENHOOK TO
WILKESBORO...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.
WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. VERY HEAVY RAIN
WILL FALL FROM THESE STORMS...AND WILL CAUSE WATER TO POND ON ROADS
AND QUICKLY FILL ROADSIDE DITCHES AND SMALL STREAMS. EXPECT FREQUENT
CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING FROM THESE STORMS. DO NOT STAY IN THE OPEN
OR SEEK SHELTER UNDER TREES WHEN LIGHTNING THREATENS...MOVE INDOORS
WHEN A THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES.
LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR LATER
UPDATES OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
LAT...LON 3618 8134 3715 7954 3667 7919 3655 7946
3655 7951 3652 7951 3624 8013 3625 8045
3612 8044 3606 8052 3605 8100 3602 8105
EXPERIMENTAL
PHSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
356 PM EDT SAT JUL 11 2009
VAZ033-112100-
FRANKLIN VA-
356 PM EDT SAT JUL 11 2009
...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT FRANKLIN COUNTY...
AT 356 PM EDT...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALONG A LINE FROM 4 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF BOONES MILL TO 3 MILES SOUTH OF FERRUM...MOVING EAST AT
15 MPH.
WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH AND SMALL HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.
VERY HEAVY RAIN WILL FALL FROM THESE STORMS...AND WILL CAUSE WATER TO
POND ON ROADS AND QUICKLY FILL ROADSIDE DITCHES AND SMALL STREAMS.
EXPECT FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING FROM THESE STORMS. DO NOT
STAY IN THE OPEN OR SEEK SHELTER UNDER TREES WHEN LIGHTNING
THREATENS...MOVE INDOORS WHEN A THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES.
THESE STORMS WILL BE NEAR BOONES MILL...ROCKY MOUNT...AND OAK LEVEL
AROUND 415 PM...WIRTZ AROUND 420 PM...BURNT CHIMNEY...AND
SYDNORSVILLE AROUND 440 PM...SONTAG AROUND 445 PM...WESTERN SMITH
MOUNTAIN LAKE AROUND 450 PM AND SNOW CREEK AROUND 455 PM.
LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR LATER
UPDATES OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
LAT...LON 3681 7990 3683 7998 3682 8000 3682 8005
3698 8001 3712 8008 3712 7966 3698 7961
3684 7964 3680 7974
EXPERIMENTAL
PHThe Roanoke radar (KFCX), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:12 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was blown down on Laughlin Street. Damage values are estimated.
Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree and a power line along Main Street. Damage values are estimated.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, July 2009
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: 189854, 189856.