Kevin Myatt

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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.

2007 packed some weather surprises

It wasn't all about heat and drought in 2007.

Though the scorching sun took center stage on Southwest Virginia's weather scene, other kinds of weather events strutted their hour upon the stage, including extreme cold, a vicious thunderstorm, and even some all-too-rare rain and snow.

Here is my list of the top 10 weather events of 2007 for this newspaper's circulation area.

1. August heat wave

August was the hottest month on record for Roanoke (average of 82.1 degrees) and Blacksburg (average of 76.1 degrees). Roanoke's high temperature reached or exceeded 90 on 27 of August's 31 days -- the most 90-degree days for any month on record. The temperature reached or exceeded 100 degrees on four days -- the most for any month since there were eight in July 1977.

The nights were as sultry as the days were searing. Roanoke's low of 79 on Aug. 9 was the warmest overnight low on record.

2. April freeze

The spring's last freeze wasn't really late, but its length and severity were unusual for April. An extremely warm March coaxed plants into early greening, leading to widespread crop damage in the freeze. Blacksburg's temperature dipped below freezing each day from April 5 to 10, while Roanoke's did so each day from April 7 to 10. Some kids hunted Easter eggs in the snow April 7 and 8.

Snowflakes swirled through the air on the morning of April 16, as strong winds behind a cold front prevented hospital helicopters from landing on the Virginia Tech campus to assist those injured in the shootings.

3. Drought

Drought was persistent throughout the year, but decent rains in June and October came just as it appeared the drought would slip into the same extremes that were being experienced in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama. Still, Roanoke finished the year a foot below normal in rain. November was the driest on record, with only 0.18 inch.

4. Feb. 13 to 14 ice storm

While most of the Roanoke Valley escaped serious ice, the New River Valley and higher elevations along the Blue Ridge were hit hard. An inch of ice accumulated from Bent Mountain south into Floyd County. At the peak of the storm, about 14,000 Appalachian Power Co. customers were without power.

5. June 5 supercell storm

An isolated thunderstorm developed rotation aloft as it moved along a path from Tazewell County through Pulaski, Floyd, Henry and southern Franklin counties. It left behind a trail of wind damage and copious hail, covering the ground up to 4 inches deep. A house was destroyed by a falling tree 10 miles south of Rocky Mount, and two other houses in Franklin County were damaged.

6. October heat wave

October's hot spell toppled half-century-old standards. Temperatures rose to 90 or above on Oct. 7, 8 and 9 in Roanoke. The previous latest 90-degree day in Roanoke was Oct. 6 in 1951, and it had not been in the 90s on any day in October in Roanoke since 1959. It was Roanoke's second warmest October on record.

7. Record warm March

After an unseasonably cold February, spring arrived quickly and intensely in March. Temperatures topped 80 in Roanoke on four days, and were in the 70s on eight other days as the city experienced its warmest March on record.

8. Oct. 24 to 26 rains

A stalled low pressure system over the Southeast was just what the doctor ordered for drought-plagued Southwest Virginia in late October. Three days of nearly continuous rain left 4 to 8 inches on most of Southwest Virginia, with nearly a foot of rain at Snow Creek in Franklin County. The rain didn't end the drought, but it sure helped.

9. Feb. 6 snowfall

An Alberta clipper -- a fast, southeastward-moving low pressure system originating in Canada -- moved through Feb. 6, leaving 2 to 6 inches of snow from the Roanoke and New River valleys northward. It was Southwest Virginia's only widespread snowfall of the 2006-07 winter. Roanoke picked up 3¹₂ inches of snow, sparing the winter from being the least snowy on record.

10. Tropical Storm Barry, June 3.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, which came ashore in Florida and then moved up the East Coast, supplied 1 to 3 inches of rain across Southwest Virginia. That rain provided temporary drought relief and helped get us through the summer.

Also considered: Unseasonable warmth in January, May, June and September; Arctic outbreak in early February; late July cool snap; severe weather outbreaks on June 29 and Aug. 21; remnants of Hurricane Humberto producing moderate to locally heavy rain Sept. 14; Dec. 15 to 16 light ice storm; Dec. 21 surprise light snow.

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