The second major Arctic blast to affect the region within the same 7-day period surged through the region on the 18th sending temperatures to their lowest levels in over a year and by the morning of the 20th setting record low temperatures. Maximum temperatures on the 19th failed to rise above 20F across the Piedmont and failed to even reach 10F across the western mountains. All of the climate stations within the Blacksburg National Weather Service Forecast Office County Warning Area (CWA) tied record low maximum temperatures on the 18th and all but Bluefield did the same on the 20th. All of the climate stations set record low temperatures the morning of February 20th, with Lynchburg recording a new all time record low temperature of 11F early in the morning on the 20th. The first morning after the Arctic frontal passage brought bitterly cold temperatures and gusty northwest winds leading to dangerously low wind chills. Below are the highlights of the dangerously low -20F or lower wind chills from the North Carolina counties within the Blacksburg National Weather Service Forecast area as well as the plethora of record low and record low maximum temperatures set as a result of this Arctic outbreak:
Wind Chills:|Alleghany County - mesonet station at Barrett recorded a wind chill of -26F at 825 am EST and another mesonet station 2S Whiteheat recorded a wind chill of -24F at 837 am EST,|Ashe County - the AWOS at Jefferson recorded a wind chill of -29F at 755 am EST. Mesonet stations 2ENE Baldwin and 1WSW Laurel Springs recorded wind chills of -24F at 810 am EST and 800 am EST, respectively.|Watauga County - a mesonet station 2WNW Aho recorded a wind chill of -31F at 729 am EST, another mesonet station 1ESE Boone recorded a wind chill of -30F at 835 am EST, and the Boone AWOS (KTNB) recorded a wind chill reading of -20F at 904 am EST.
Record Low Maximum Temperatures on the 19th:|Boone - maximum of 3F tied for the 5th coldest on record and the coldest since 2/5/1996. The all time coldest is -4F set on 1/21/1985.
Note: Boone is not currently a regular climate station within the Blacksburg, Virginia National Weather Service forecast area.