Saturday, November 17, 2007
Weather columnist Kevin Myatt: November normal but colorful
Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.
kevin.myatt
@roanoke.com
981-3341
Weather with Kevin Myatt
Recent columns
- 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
- Column archive
Read the Weather Journal blog
- Sprinkles or flurries possible Tuesday, but maybe something bigger for the weekend?
- For now, it looks like a quiet, mostly mild week ahead for SW Virginia
- Coldest morning of winter so far likely across much of Southwest Virginia; Tuesday precipitation looking doubtful
- Weather Journal blog
#swvawx on Twitter
@KevinMyattWx
Rumors of the demise of this autumn's colorful foliage were certainly premature.
I'm not a tree expert, so I can't fully explain why, but the colors around Roanoke the past several days have been really pretty. Virginia Tech forest biologist John Seiler said in Friday's Roanoke Times that the wet period we had in late October may have renewed some root activity in the trees.
I do know part of why they were late, though -- it was like summer until mid-October.
But November, after three months of over-the-top heat and a year full of bizarre ups and downs on the thermometer, is actually just about what it's supposed to be.
Through Thursday, the month was averaging one-tenth of a degree above normal at Roanoke Regional Airport.
We've had a couple of warm afternoons above 70 and a few cold mornings below freezing. Most days have been in between. That is what November typically feels like.
Most folks in our readership area had a few snowflakes Thursday night and Friday morning. You may have slept through it or it may have just been a few flurries you couldn't make out in the yard lights.
On the mountaintops west of Interstate 81, there was even enough to whiten the ground in a few spots.
Snow showers in mid-November, caused by northwesterly winds blowing up the western slopes of the Appalachians, are certainly not unusual. In fact, we're just now entering the beginning of the period of time when we need to keep our eyes out for winter storms.
But for the next several days, the focus for the potential of severe cold and heavy snow will be on the Western states.
A high pressure system in the northern Pacific Ocean will force the jet stream far to the south over the West, and a large storm system will mix the Arctic air sinking south with copious moisture.
This could bring a large snowstorm to mountain areas of the West, with rain, wind and storms in the Plains. As the low pressure systems pulls northeast, we could end up with some needed rain in our area next week.
Eventually, the cold air in the West may seep eastward, but it will probably moderate as it does.
So for now, the forecast for the rest of November is that it will be continue to be typically November-like.
Apply now to chase supercell storms in May
Some of you may have seen some episodes of the reality show "Storm Chasers" on the Discovery Channel. The series has centered on the Tornado Intercept Vehicle, an armor-plated Mad Max-like contraption designed to drive into a weak to moderate tornado.
As you know if you have followed this column or my blog for the past few years, Pulaski County meteorology teacher Dave Carroll and I lead a group of college and high school students to the central United States each May for approximately two weeks to chase and observe storms.
I say "observe" because we are in minivans and we do not drive into tornadoes. And I say "storms" because our focus isn’t solely on tornadoes, but on the awe-inspiring supercell thunderstorms that spawn them.
There are five slots available for Southwest Virginia high school students for the 2008 trip and four spots available for some Virginia Tech students who have taken meteorology courses. We are taking applications through Dec. 1. Please visit this Web site to consider whether you’d like to apply.
The most exciting part of our 2008 trip is that it will be tied in with National Geographic’s Jason Project and also with the Public Broadcasting System. I will have more details on that in the future.
