The Blacksburg National Weather Service Office

Our region encompasses both a diverse population and physiography. Larger cities in our area include are Roanoke, Lynchburg, and Danville, VA, Lewisburg and Bluefield, WV, and Boone and Reidsville, NC. Our area extends from the Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains on the west side to the flatter topography of the Piedmont on the east. Our Hydrologic Service Area covers parts of 5 major river basins and the threat of flash flooding is high throughout the year.

• Hourly weather forecasts for 40 counties in three states and ten independent cities in Virginia
• Forecasts out to 7 days
• Open 24/7/365
• Rotating shift work
• Days
• Evenings
• Overnights
• Weekends and holidays
• Watches, warnings, and advisories
• River forecasts and summaries
• Climate summaries
• Fire weather forecasts
• Aviation forecasts
• Incident-based decision support services (IDSS)

To accomplish our mission, we make use of the latest technology for detection and communication. Our WSR-88D Doppler radar (KFCX, pictured right) is located in Floyd County, VA. We operate seven NOAA Weather Radio transmitters located in Roanoke, Lynchburg, Halifax, Richlands, and Wytheville, VA; Hinton, WV, and Jefferson, NC. We also have numerous Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) which keep us aware of changing conditions.

We are also one of the approximately 75 upper air sites in the U.S. releasing weather balloons twice daily. Attached to the balloons are a parachute and a radiosonde or instrument package which transmits data back to our office. Here are some facts about radiosondes:

• The radiosonde is suspended below a six-foot wide balloon filled with hydrogen.
• Sensors on the radiosonde measure temperature and relative humidity.
• GPS tracking determines pressure and wind speed and direction.
• The radiosonde flight can last in excess of two hours, and during this time the radiosonde can ascend to over 115,000 feet and drift more than 125 miles from the release point.

We issue all severe thunderstorm, tornado, winter storm, flood, and river flood watches and warnings for our forecast area. As a reminder, a watch means that conditions are favorable for a weather event to occur, be it a severe thunderstorm, tornado, hurricane, or freeze. A warning means that the event is occurring or will occur.

It is important to have a plan in place for severe weather events. Does your family know where to shelter in your house? What about an outside meeting place? Water, non-perishable food, a flashlight, extra medicine, and of course a NOAA Weather Radio are all essential, and should located in your safe place.

Our forecasters predict conditions at area airports for aviators. This includes low level winds and wind shear, fog and stratus, and precipitation, including rain, snow, sleet, and freezing rain. All of these conditions may make taking off and landing difficult, and create hazardous air travel. These forecasts are updated constantly, and issued at least 4 times daily.

Our forecasters issue Fire Weather Forecasts as well as forecast matrices daily to assist the US Forest Service, the USDA, and other land owners and stewards in maintaining millions of acres of land. With these forecasts, prescribed burns are conducted on days ahead of forest fire seasons. These burns reduce wildfires, clear downed trees, control plant diseases, improve rangeland and wildlife habitats, and restore natural ecosystems.

In addition, the NWS has incident meteorologists who are deployed to large wildfires throughout the United States. These meteorologist constantly brief firefighters and emergency management personnel on site concerning current and forecasted weather conditions. They are instrumental in keeping ground crew and equipment safe, and helping to control wildfires.

Our forecast region extends from the Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains on the west side, to the flatter topography of the Piedmont on the east. Our Hydrologic Service Area covers parts of 5 major river basins and the threat of flash flooding is high throughout the year.

We issue flood watches, warnings, and forecasts for many points in the Roanoke, James, New, and Clinch River basins, among others. These are used by people who live on or have property near the waterway, and are also used for recreational purposes.

Decision Support Services (DSS) are forecast advice and interpretative services the NWS provides to help core partners, such as emergency personnel and public safety officials, make decisions when weather, water, and climate impacts the lives and livelihoods of the American people. This support may be needed in response to a particular event or routinely to support high-value decision making.

When impactful events do occur, the method of communication comes in several forms, but generally falls into three categories: remote support with forecast advice through various means (such as phone calls, email or online webinars), on-site support at an emergency operations center, or on-site support at an incident or event (such as NWS deployment to a wildfire). The information being communicated to emergency personnel and public safety officials includes detailed information beyond just the most likely scenario. This includes expressing forecast confidence, probabilities of different scenarios occurring, and distinguishing more commonplace weather events from the truly historical or extreme weather and water events.