Strong winds increased in advance of an approaching cold front. These strong winds combined with saturated soils from extremely heavy rain, allowed trees to easily be blown down with only 30 mph winds.
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.
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.
Strong winds increased in advance of an approaching cold front. These strong winds combined with saturated soils from extremely heavy rain, allowed trees to easily be blown down with only 30 mph 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 Feb 6, 7:20 AM EST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Blacksburg VA Issued by National Weather Service Raleigh NC 720 AM EST Thu Feb 6 2020 .SYNOPSIS... A slow moving cold front and a strong upper level jet stream will bring abundant rainfall to the region through tonight. A northwest flow and falling temperatures will support some mountain snow showers Saturday and Saturday night. After a period of dry weather on Sunday, an approaching cold front will bring an increasing chance of showers to the area on Monday and Tuesday. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 500 AM Thursday... Flood Watch in Effect through Friday Morning. Rain showers have begun to slacken overnight, with the heaviest precipitation awaiting us Thursday afternoon. With total QPE ranging from 0.5 to 1 inch across the area for Wednesday, the stage is set for potential flooding on Thursday. Thunderstorms are possible from the NC mountains through Southside VA tomorrow. The high rainfall rates in these storms could cause localized rapid rise flooding in areas with poor drainage or low lying areas. && .SHORT TERM /FRIDAY and FRIDAY NIGHT/... As of 500 AM Thursday... As the front driving these storms exits to our east Friday morning, expect rain showers to clear out for everywhere except for the western slopes of the mountains. Winds shift to the northwest on Friday, and as the colder air moves into the area, some upslope snow showers are possible Friday night into Saturday morning. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... As of 500 AM Thursday... Saturday will be largely dry, excepting some lingering upslope in the morning. A weak shortwave will come south from the Ohio River valley late Saturday night to bring the chance of some snow stretching close to the Blue Ridge. Without a stronger shot of arctic air, however, expect accumulations to be light or nonexistent. Temperatures Thursday in the 50s/lower 60s as we have been recently. Following the frontal passage on Friday, temperatures for the weekend will become more normal for February, with highs in the 30s/40s, and lows approaching or dropping below freezing. && .AVIATION /12Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... As of 720 AM EST Thursday... While much of the area has temporarily returned to VFR ceilings and visibilities, conditions are expected to worsen again to IFR/MVFR levels as we progress into the mid to late morning. Numerous rounds of showers are expected today, along with the potential for some isolated thunderstorms across the southeastern section of the area. A cold front will cross the area tonight, and we will transition to northwest flow across the region and gusty conditions across the mountains. Upslope rain showers are expected across the preferred regions of southeast West Virginia, south into the Northern Mountains of North Carolina. As the night progresses, enough cold air will enter the area for a transition for some snow showers. Today, low level winds will be very strong across a low level inversion in advance of the approaching cold front. Low level wind shear will be possible for parts of the area until the cold front crosses the region. Extended Aviation Discussion... Aviation conditions will be poor through the entire period favoring IFR-MVFR at best. Rain showers Friday will transition to mountains snow showers and snow flurries Friday night. Scattered rain and snow showers with sub-VFR conditions are possible during the weekend. && .HYDROLOGY... As of 1100 AM EST Wednesday... Heavy rain/flooding event still appears to be on track over the next 48 hours but in still contending with QPF (forecast rainfall) substantial uncertainties remain. Subtle shifts in the track of mesoscale elements and banded features with heavier rainfall can move water from one basin to another rather easily, especially in the complex terrain and varied hydrology of the Blacksburg Hydrologic Service Area (HSA). At this point in the proceedings, with the vast bulk of the rain yet to come every major river basin in the HSA still looks to be affected with significant rises but the focus for heaviest rainfall and possible flooding remains the Dan and lower Roanoke River basins. Forecast guidance from the various River Forecast Centers have all been updated this morning and most of the forecast points in all the major river basins are seen to reach Action stage (usually a few feet below Minor flood stage) or a bit higher. The Dan River from Wentworth NC to South Boston however is currently shown going into the higher end of the Minor flood category. It is worth noting that all of the flood stages on the Dan were raised several feet last year, and these would have been higher end Moderate floods back then. At Danville for example, the current forecast crest just over 25 feet would have been just below Major flood stage and around the 5th highest on record (only since 1996 however) and close to the April 2017 flood event. So a lot of water moving through the system. River Flood Warnings will likely be issued this evening or early tomorrow as certainty increases and with the flood crests not forecast until Friday or Saturday. In addition to the river flood threat, the chances for flash flooding remain substantial as well. Embedded higher rate rainfall is possible on top of increasingly wet soils in what is still the 'dead' of winter, a time of year with maximum runoff efficiency. WPC Day 2 Excessive Rainfall Outlook valid 12z Thursday to 12z Friday maintains a fairly broad area of Moderate risk of rainfall exceeding flash flood guidance (the amount of rain in a specific duration needed to bring most streams to bankfull) across northwest NC and into south central VA. 3-hour totals in excess of 2 to 2.5 inches could begin to initiate runoff problems and several mesoscale models are showing such rates during portions of that time window. A Flood Watch exists for the entire HSA and that covers both river flooding and the increased likelihood that pockets of flash flooding may occur where rain bands track repeatedly across the same small basins. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...Flood Watch through Friday morning for VAZ007-009>020-022>024- 032>035-043>047-058-059. NC...Flood Watch through Friday morning for NCZ001>006-018>020. WV...Flood Watch through Friday morning for WVZ042>044-507-508. && SYNOPSIS...Blaes NEAR TERM...VFJ SHORT TERM...VFJ LONG TERM...VFJ AVIATION...Sleighter/RCS HYDROLOGY...PC
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Blacksburg VA Issued by National Weather Service Raleigh NC 533 AM EST Thu Feb 6 2020 NCZ001>006-018>020-VAZ015>017-032>035-043>047-058-059-071045- Ashe-Alleghany NC-Surry-Stokes-Rockingham-Caswell-Watauga-Wilkes- Yadkin-Grayson-Carroll-Floyd-Patrick-Franklin-Bedford-Amherst-Henry- Pittsylvania-Campbell-Appomattox-Buckingham-Halifax-Charlotte- 533 AM EST Thu Feb 6 2020 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north central North Carolina, northwest North Carolina, central Virginia, south central Virginia, southwest Virginia and west central Virginia. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Flood Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Flood Watch. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. VAZ007-009>014-018>020-022>024-WVZ042>044-507-508-071045- Tazewell-Smyth-Bland-Giles-Wythe-Pulaski-Montgomery-Craig- Alleghany VA-Bath-Roanoke-Botetourt-Rockbridge-Mercer-Summers-Monroe- Eastern Greenbrier-Western Greenbrier- 533 AM EST Thu Feb 6 2020 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southwest Virginia, west central Virginia and southeast West Virginia. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Flood Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Flood Watch. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
921 AM EST THU FEB 6 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0900 AM FLASH FLOOD RICHLANDS 37.10N 81.80W
02/06/2020 TAZEWELL VA 911 CALL CENTER
NUMEROUS STREETS ARE FLOODED IN TOWN, WITH
WATER LEVELS CONTINUING TO RISE RAPIDLY.
&&
16The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A total of eleven roads across the county were blocked due to downed trees. The trees blew down as a result soils being saturated from recent heavy rains combined with 30 mph wind gusts. Damage values are estimated.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, February 2020
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: 878402.