Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.

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• We got graupel, but not on official record
• Moisture could get caught up in cold blast
• Forecast for Weather Journal: Partly print, with frequent Internet
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• Sprinkles or flurries possible Tuesday, but maybe something bigger for the weekend?
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• Coldest morning of winter so far likely across much of Southwest Virginia; Tuesday precipitation looking doubtful
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"June rainfall has been inconsistent across the region with pockets of heavy rainfall and areas with very little. Drought conditions are about the same or slightly worse than two weeks ago."

This wording from a statement issued by the National Weather Service in Blacksburg on Thursday answers any questions about whether recent thunderstorms have significantly improved the long-term drought.

Any rain helps some, and thunderstorms in the mountains do provide runoff that helps refill reservoirs and keeps some streams running.

But for widespread moistening of soil dried out by roughly three years of below-normal rainfall, sporadic thunderstorms don't help much. Some places get very little rain, while others get a few minutes of very hard rain that runs off quickly without soaking into the soil.

There is a small creek near where I live that was roiling with muddy water after the June 22 thunderstorms. Six days later, the stream bed was back to dusty rocks.

Through 5 p.m. Sunday, Roanoke Regional Airport has had 4.64 inches of rain in June, thanks to being right smack under big storms on June 3 (the one that spawned the weak tornado in South Roanoke) and June 22 (when hail pummeled much of the city). Roanoke's normal June rainfall is 3.68 inches.

Yet, the Roanoke and New River valleys are still rated as being in a "moderate drought" by the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb.

There is some good news in the short term: The Climate Prediction Center forecasts above-normal precipitation through the next two weeks.