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SEVERE WEATHER CLIMATOLOGY FOR THE BLACKSBURG, VA WFO COUNTY WARNING AREA

SEVERE WEATHER CLIMATOLOGY FOR THE BLACKSBURG, VA WFO COUNTY WARNING AREA Robert Stonefield and James Hudgins Update through 2007 by Kathryn Prociv National Weather Service Forecast Office Blacksburg, Virginia Informational Tidbits

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SEVERE WEATHER CLIMATOLOGY FOR THE BLACKSBURG, VA WFO COUNTY WARNING AREA

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  1. SEVERE WEATHER CLIMATOLOGY FOR THE BLACKSBURG, VA WFO COUNTY WARNING AREA Robert Stonefield and James Hudgins Update through 2007 by Kathryn Prociv National Weather Service Forecast Office Blacksburg, Virginia

  2. Informational Tidbits • 4527 Severe Weather Events (Tornado, Hail and Wind) from 1950 to 2007. • Data collected from NCDC and SPC. • Demographics: 1.7 million people across 20,000 square miles. • 1.1 million people reside east of the Blue Ridge.

  3. Population Density by County

  4. All Severe Weather Events by Month May-July 65% [2959] 22% [979] 22% [988] 22% [992] 12% [545] 10% [433] 4527 Total Events

  5. All Severe Weather Events by Time 53% [2383] (2p-6p) 27%[1228] 26%[1155] 16% [713] 14%[618] <4% [199] (2a-8a) 4527 Total Events

  6. Tornados by Month 56% [76] Apr-July 3% [135] of all severe weather events [4527] are Tornados. 95 East 40 West 16% [22] were tropical cyclone induced tornados Average 2 per year

  7. Tornados by Time 135 reported tornados (1950-2007) 28% [38] 64% [87] (12p-6p) 22% [29] 15% [20]

  8. Tornados by Magnitude 135 reported tornados (1950-2007) 76% [103] 24%[32] 0%[0] 19 tornados in April, 9 were (F2-F3)!

  9. Tropical Tornados by County Of the 135 tornados, 16% [22] were tropical cyclone-induced tornados Ivan spawned Two F2 Tornados (Bedford and Henry County) 90% [20] were F0-F1

  10. Severe Hail by Month 41% [1845] of all severe weather events [4527] is Severe Hail. 85% [1559] April-July 33% [608] 24% [435] 16% [291] 12%[225] 1% [18] Oct.-Feb. 0% [0]

  11. Severe Hail by Time 1845 Severe Hail Events 30% [558] 29% [537] 88% [1628] (12p-8p) 15% [283] 13% [250] 59% [1095] (2p-6p)

  12. Severe Hail by Magnitude 81%[1500] 17%[311] 2%[34] 1845 Severe Hail Events

  13. Severe Winds by Month 56% [2547] of all severe weather events [4527] is Severe Winds. 77% [1959] May-Aug. 27% [679] 21% [534] 15% [391] 14% [355]

  14. Severe Winds by Time 2547 Severe Wind Events 25% [632] 23% [589] 78% [1989] (12p-8p) 17% [420] 14% [348] 48% [1221] (2p-6p)

  15. Highlights • If a storm does become severe, 56% of the events are from convective winds, 41% are from hail, and 3% are tornados, of which, 16% are from tropical systems. • Tornados that touch down in the WFO Blacksburg CWA are generally east of the Blue Ridge and near the North Carolina and Virginia border. • Tornados developing within the WFO Blacksburg CWA usually occur between the months of April and July. • On average, two tornados touch down within the WFO Blacksburg CWA per year. • The majority (72%) of the tornados occur between 12:00 pm and 8:00 pm with a diurnal peak between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm. • Weak tornados account for 76% of all the tornado events. • Of the strong tornados (24%), most occur during the month of April. • No violent tornados have been reported within the CWA. • 90% of the tropical cyclone-induced tornados are weak tornados. Ivan spawned two F2 tornados (Bedford and Henry County on September 17, 2004).

  16. Highlights Continued • Severe hail occurs most often between the months of April and July (85%), with a seasonal peak in May. • The majority (88%) of severe hail occurs between 12:00 pm and 8:00 pm with a diurnal peak between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm. • Severe hail of 0.75 to 1.00 inch constitutes 81% of all severe hail reports. • Severe thunderstorm wind events are most likely to occur between the months of May and August (77%), with a seasonal peak in July. • The majority (78%) of severe thunderstorm damaging winds occur between 12:00 pm and 8:00 pm, with a diurnal peak between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm. SEVERE WEATHER CLIMATOLOGY PAPER FOR THE RNK (1950-2005: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rnk/Research/Svr_Wx_Climo.pdf OTHER LOCAL CLIMATE STUDIES: http://www.weather.gov/climate/local_data.php?wfo=rnk THE END

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