Some natural fireworks on the Fourth of JulyPosted Jul04, 2008 at 01:04 PMScattered thunderstorms will be popping this afternoon, and off and on for several days, as a weak cold front and a series of upper-level impulses interact with warmth and humidity. While most storms will just be rumblers that dump out a quick burst of rain, a few storms could be severe, with localized gusty winds and hail as the main threats. This is really typical July weather for Southwest Virginia. If you're on a lake today and you hear thunder, it would probably be wise to get to shelter as soon as possible. These will be intermittent storms, so there will probably still be time for cookouts and fireworks between the downpours ... and some places will barely get any rain at all. The power of a little bitty tornadoPosted Jul03, 2008 at 06:18 PMA month ago this evening, on June 3 , a small and relatively weak tornado skipped through South Roanoke, doing a lot of damage to trees, including uprooting some very large ones, but very little damage to houses except where it knocked trees or limbs onto about 10 houses. Damage from the EF-0 tornado, with winds of 70-80 mph, was estimated at $350,000. The National Weather Service estimated the June 3 tornado to be no wider than 60 yards. Some video of a tornado in Sweden, of all places, linked here, might yield a little light on how a small tornado can do so much damage to trees, yet touch little else. Scroll ahead to the 1:25 mark on the video to see the tiny white funnel, which appears to be only 10 feet or so wide, as it moves a few feet in front of a car without blowing it off the road, then takes the tops out of several trees. It doesn't appear to so much blow the treetops out as twist them off, slicing them. And then, there's this widely shown surveillance video of another small tornado, probably no bigger than 20 yards wide, tossing cars in a parking lot in Alabama this past May. This is obviously a more intense tornado than the ones in Roanoke or Sweden. Size isn't everything where tornadoes are concerned. Sunday potential fizzles; cold air aloft may trigger storms todayPosted Jun30, 2008 at 01:04 AM
Don't be surprised if a few more storms develop today as unseasonably cold air flows in to many layers of the atmosphere above the surface, allowing any remnant moisture to bubble into it with daytime heating. With the freezing level so low, hail will be a possibility with any storm that develops today. The rest of the week looks mostly dry, and rather cool for this time of year, with some lows in the 50s by Tuesday morning. Will clouds dampen severe threat some?Posted Jun29, 2008 at 01:36 PMMany ingredients for severe thunderstorms are in place today -- moisture, relatively strong winds aloft, and an approaching strong cold front to lift air upward. Heating, which provides instability as colder air moves in aloft, is a bit lacking right now, as clouds from last night's storm have blocked much of the sunlight. Temperatures are holding in the 70s in much of the Roanoke and New River valleys. Still, as the afternoon progresses, expect to see thunderstorms develop. South and east of us -- Southside Virginia, the Piedmont of Virginia and North Carolina -- may have the best shot at severe weather, where it is hotter, but I would not be surprised to see some storms fire along the cold front and move in late this afternoon. Also ... there's still a few hours for the sun to break out and get things cooking a little more. Stormy weekend ahead in many states, including VirginiaPosted Jun27, 2008 at 11:21 PM
Gust front over Roanoke shortly after noon It was an extremely rough day around Nebraska and Iowa, where the Omaha, Neb.-Council Bluffs, Iowa, was hammered by winds up to 100 mph and baseball-sized hail, causing widespread power outages and killing at least 2 when a tree fell on a car. This was caused by the same cold front that will be approaching us the next couple of days, plowing into hot, humid air. With this clash of air masses, lots of ouflow boundaries left from storms the last two days, a series of upper-level impulses moving ahead fo the cold front, and daytime heat and moisture bubbling into cooler air aloft, Saturday and Sunday appear likely to produce additional rounds of storms in our area. With wind dynamics picking up above us, these storms may become more organized and severe weather may be more widespread throughout the East. Damaging winds and large hail appear to be the main threats, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some tornado reports, too. Keep an eye on the sky this weekend. Yet another storm cluster moving toward RoanokePosted Jun27, 2008 at 03:00 PM
Weather service radar, about 3 p.m. I was out in the brunt of the midday storm and got some photos I will post later tonight. A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for most of Virginia until 8 p.m. as a moderately unstable air mass and some wind support aloft are firing storm clusters capable to strong winds and large hail. Cluster of storms may affect Roanoke area about noonPosted Jun27, 2008 at 10:58 AM
National Weather Service radar about 11 a.m. Storm blows over the Roanoke Valley; some wind damagePosted Jun26, 2008 at 05:47 PM
Ominous, spiral-like storm base over northern Roanoke/Roanoke County The National Weather Service in Blacksburg has received a report of trees down one-half mile west of the Roanoke Regional Airport, in the Loch Haven area. I observed winds gusting no higher than 50 mph, which kicked up some dust in downtown Roanoke, and we got very little rain downtown. The storm appeared to break up into two or three small but intense cells as it came over the valley, and some of these little cells may have been new storms that fired along outflow winds that were kicked out by previous storms. The most significant report of damage turned into the National Weather Service in Blacksburg so far was a report of numerous trees down in Pembroke in Giles County, which may have been the result of a microburst. 
An anvil cloud on the storm after it passed through the Roanoke Valley Please let me know with a comment below or an email to me if you had any kind of significant wind damage, hail or any other interesting weather observations. UPDATE FRIDAY 6/2, 4:40 P.M.: Scott Martin sent two photos (linked in blue within this update) of wind damage at Smith Mountain Lake. He said about 10 trees were blown down by straight-line winds on Thursday. ADDED FRIDAY 6/27, 10:45 A.M.: In the extended entry below, Thursday's severe weather reports turned into the National Weather Service in Blacksburg. Continue reading "Storm blows over the Roanoke Valley; some wind damage" » Strong storm could affect Roanoke Valley if it holds togetherPosted Jun26, 2008 at 04:19 PM
As always, please leave a comment or email me if you experience any significant weather. Photo caption: National Weather Service radar at 4:20 p.m. Severe thunderstorms possible again todayPosted Jun23, 2008 at 10:06 AM
Parts of Roanoke, Blacksburg, other areas hammered by hailPosted Jun22, 2008 at 06:44 PM
This photo from Jesica Clements shows a jagged, roughly quarter-sized hailstone that fell near Wasena Park in Roanoke Another storm about 8:30 p.m. at Blacksburg produced large hail up to 1.5 inches in diameter. The storm exhibited some weak rotation on radar as it moved through Giles and Montgomery counties, but then became dominated by outflow winds and weakened as it moved toward the Roanoke Valley and points eastward. Hailstorm video from LoLo Monae of Roanoke Hail covering front porch by Josh Jackson in Roanoke My photo of a multi-tiered shelf cloud moving over Salem about 1:45 p.m. Hail covering a walk way by John Jackson in Roanoke William Ingram uses a snow shovel to remove hail in Blacksburg, submitted by his father Hank Ingram In the extended entry below is a long list of severe weather reports across the area from the National Weather Service in Blacksburg. You can also click here to see a listing and map of severe reports nationally from the Storm Prediction Center. Continue reading "Parts of Roanoke, Blacksburg, other areas hammered by hail" » The cost of cooler weather: A severe storm threatPosted Jun16, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Gusty winds, heavy rains common in storms SaturdayPosted Jun14, 2008 at 11:59 PMAs expected, strong winds and heavy rain were common in thunderstorms that occurred Saturday, though there were a handful of pretty large hail reports, too. Today should see much less shower and thunderstorm activity,as a weak cold front has pushed through, but there could be more again on Monday as a much stronger cold front arrives in the area. That front will be the leading edge of a major pattern change that will bring unseasonably cool weather to the area later this week. The extended entry below contains severe weather reports in the area from the National Weather Service in Blacksburg. Continue reading "Gusty winds, heavy rains common in storms Saturday" » Some storms may have strong winds todayPosted Jun14, 2008 at 01:34 PMThe combination of daytime heating, lingering humidity, terrain effects and an approaching cold front may trigger some strong to locally severe storms in Southwest Virginia this afternoon. Upper-level winds are not that strong, so widespread severe weather and rotating storms capable of large hail and tornadoes are unlikely. But some storms could unleash damaging wind gusts in small areas or kick out some small hail, and many storms will unload some torrential rain on localized areas while places not far away remain dry. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a mesoscale discussion for much of western and central Virginia today for this severe weather threat, but says that a severe thunderstorm watch is not anticipated. Another nightmare severe weather night in the PlainsPosted Jun12, 2008 at 11:19 AMA large, powerful tornado moving into a Boy Scout camp would be a nightmare ... and yet that's exactly what happened in Iowa last night, with four deaths and more than 40 injuries. Two more people were killed in Kansas on another ferocious severe weather night in the central U.S., and Kansas State University's campus was hit by a tornado. Associated Press article on Wednesday night's storms Wednesday's severe weather reports from the Storm Prediction Center Severe weather reports from TuesdayPosted Jun11, 2008 at 04:33 PMThere were several severe weather reports from storms that developed on Tuesday afternoon as a weak cold front pushed into hot, sticky air in the area. A preliminary list of severe reports from the National Weather Service in Blacksburg is provided in the extended entry below. Also, here's a link to some photos about a fire started on a mountain along the Craig-Botetourt county line by lightning. National Weather Service severe reports below: Heat-breaking front may trigger severe thunderstormsPosted Jun10, 2008 at 10:58 AM
The front should put an end to this particular heat wave after today's high rise into the 90s. Another round of severe storms tonight?Posted Jun04, 2008 at 06:29 PM
Latest National Weather Service-Blacksburg radar Latest watches and warnings from National Weather Service By the way ... Roanoke's high hit 92 today ... the first 90-degree day of 2008, a day earlier than I was expecting. Tornado confirmed in RoanokePosted Jun04, 2008 at 04:20 PMI've been out with the National Weather Service's damage assessment team today in Roanoke. Here's what was determined: * An EF0 tornado -- the weakest rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale -- skipped along a 1.4 mile path from the intersection of Bluefield Boulevard Southwest and Welch Road southeastward to Robin Hood Road in South Roanoke. While the narrow path and trees laying at a right angle to the storm's path were clearly indicative of a tornado, the amazing lack of structural damage to homes -- aside from those damaged by falling trees -- indicated the funnel may have remained airborne through much of the track, only touching down a few times. A special thanks to Phil Hysell and Anita Silverman with the National Weather Service, and to Mike Guzo, Roanoke's emergency management coordinator, for allowing me to go with the damage assessment team today. More severe weather could occur todayPosted Jun04, 2008 at 07:46 AMSevere weather could be possible again today across Virginia. The Storm Prediction Center has placed the entire state within a slight-risk zone for severe weather, and a tornado watch is already in effect until 10 a.m. for parts of northern Virginia. It's all related to a nearly stationary front draped east to west across the Ohio Valley toward the mid-Atlantic, with disturbances riding along the front. Click here for the latest warnings/watches from the National Weather Service at Blacksburg Rotating thunderstorm/possible tornado moves through RoanokePosted Jun03, 2008 at 08:32 PMUPDATE 10:20 P.M.: The National Weather Service has told the Roanoke Times that it has NOT confirmed that a tornado touched down in Roanoke, contrary to an earlier report by the Associated Press. A survey team will study the damage on Wednesday to determine if it was a tornado. A severe thunderstorm with some rotation moved over parts of the Roanoke Valley early this evening, dropping some large hail on parts of the northern side of the valley and causing significant wind damage in parts of south Roanoke. Later, the storm exhibited enough rotation on radar to warrant tornado warnings in counties southeast of Roanoke. I caught the back side of the storm moving just southeast of town near Roanoke Mountain and observed some rising cloud tags, indicating strong updrafts, along with some evidence of rotation in the clouds. If you have any photos of anything that might have been a tornado or funnel cloud, please e-mail them to me. My own photos don't really reveal anything of too much importance. Roanoke Mountain blocked my view of some of the storm. Storms trying to move our way -- will they make it?Posted Jun03, 2008 at 11:12 AM
A few homegrown stormsPosted Jun01, 2008 at 08:09 PM
Linked below are three photos I took: Darkening cloud base along gust front In the extended entry are severe weather reports turned in to the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, including 3/4- to 1-inch hail reports from southwest Roanoke County. Severe weather threat focused elsewhere in VirginiaPosted May31, 2008 at 05:11 PM
Severe weather threat for Virginia on SaturdayPosted May30, 2008 at 08:34 PMUPDATE NOON SATURDAY: A tornado watch is in effect for northern Virginia and surrounding states, as this statement and map from the Storm Prediction Center shows. We'll see how and if any of this threat spreads our way later today. 
Check the Storm Prediction Center and the National Weather Service at Blacksburg on Saturday for the latest on severe weather threats in our area. Virginia could see severe storms todayPosted May18, 2008 at 08:51 AMWhile I am out in the Texas Panhandle with the storm chasing team, continuing to work slowly northward toward a multi-day late-week severe weather threat, parts of Virginia mostly just east of the Blue Ridge have a slight risk of severe weather today as a new cold front and strong upper-level wind energy move into the area. Though moisture will be not be extremely thick and heating will be modest, there is extremely cold air aloft, and that could allow storms to bubble upward during the afternoon. These storms may be able to unleash some strong winds and localized hail, mostly east of Roanoke, but don't rule out a few along the I-81 corridor. The chilly weather you've seen this week and these southeast-moving storm systems are the result of a large Canadian air mass that has overspread much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation. It has shut off the Gulf of Mexico and therefore shut down much severe weather potential in the central U.S. A pattern change is ahead for the central U.S., but cooler than normal weather may hang on stubbornly along the East Coast. Another deadly day in the nation's mid-sectionPosted May10, 2008 at 11:02 PMThe tornado death toll continues to climb this spring, with at least 19 killed in Oklahoma and Missouri today. This is the same storm system that will bring a threat of heavy rain to Southwest Virginia on Sunday. A flood watch has been issued for several counties just east of the Blue Ridge, where the rain was heaviest on Thursday night and will face a greater flood risk with additional rain. |
