Kevin Myatt

Latest entries from the Weather Journal blog

• First rain in weeks likely; maybe last rain for weeks, too
• Some nighttime weather fireworks on Independence Day?
• A new type of cloud?

About Kevin

Kevin Myatt grew up in Arkansas to the tune of tornado sirens and the rhythm of hailstones, aspiring to be a meteorologist before his studies and career were turned to journalism instead. Though he often chases storms, he prefers living in the cooler, more tranquil weather of the Blue Ridge. He moved to Roanoke in 1999 to take a job on the copy desk of The Roanoke Times; writing headlines and editing copy is his principal work for the newspaper today.

Each May, Kevin assists Pulaski County High School / Virginia Tech meteorology instructor Dave Carroll in leading college and high school students to the Plains to observe severe weather firsthand. The accounts of many of his storm chases can be found here on the storm chasing page of his weather blog on roanoke.com.

Kevin was an editor for "Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States," a book written by D.C.-area weather enthusiast Rick Schwartz and published by Blue Diamond Books that documents hurricanes striking the mid-Atlantic states since colonial times.

The Weather Journal column began in 2003 and appears on Friday's Virginia section front in The Roanoke Times. The Weather Journal blog began in 2006 and follows weather day-by-day between the larger columns.

Count 'em -- 1,2,3 named storms

See maps of these storms:

Hurricane Frances

Tropical Storm Gaston

Tropical Storm Hermine

Tropical Storm Gaston is ashore in South Carolina. It didn't quite make it to hurricane strength. Gaston is spinning a few showers into our neck of the woods this evening, and some areas along and east of the Blue Ridge could get some locally heavy downpours.

Tropical Storm Hermine has formed over the Atlantic about 325 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, but will likely continue to drift north staying offshore. If there is any threat, it would be to Cape Cod later this week, probably as a weak tropical storm.

The big weather story of the next week or so is likely to be Hurricane Frances. High pressure to the north is likely to keep this major hurricane, now packing 135 mph winds, chugging west or west-northwest toward the coast of the Southeast U.S. There seems to be nothing out there to cause any kind of major weakening of Frances. Big decisions on warnings and evacuations may need to be made as early as mid-week, with a strike likely late in the week. Anywhere from Key West to Cape Hatteras seems to be a possibility right now.

The active tropical season continues. Stay tuned.