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.

Winds of change hit Weather Journal

Unless it's a weather pattern that has grown tiresome, change isn't always the most enjoyable thing.

But change is inevitable, sometimes essential and often beneficial.

There are going to be some changes in The Roanoke Times, largely affecting the Virginia section, that will be explained in greater detail over the weekend.

I am only going to write today about how Weather Journal will be affected.

Weather Journal will move to the front of the Virginia section each Friday.

There also will be two smaller Weather Journal updates twice during the week, on Monday and Wednesday, appearing on the back page of the section under the weather graphic. (Let me just say it now: I personally have nothing to do with the content of the weather graphic. Sometimes, the forecasts even contradict what I'm writing about.)

So there will be three Weather Journal items each week, instead of two, though two of them will be shorter than the full-length columns I've been writing on Wednesdays and Saturdays the past few years.

I see it as a tremendous honor to move out on the front of the Virginia section after being inside the section since the column's inception. It's a tribute to you, the readers.

When I started writing for print back in 2003, I really had no idea that a weather geek's ramblings would find a niche among Southwest Virginia's readers. I've learned that many of you enjoy weather topics as much as I do.

I have heard from hundreds of you over the years, making comments or suggestions, asking questions, or just telling me how much you enjoy the column.

The Weather Journal blog on roanoke.com, started two years ago, has also seen a steady increase in traffic. Even in boring weather, which is probably at least 340 days a year in Southwest Virginia, the blog gets a couple of hundred visits a day. A winter storm threat often boosts the traffic into the thousands.

I've been interested in weather since childhood, and I've been involved in journalism since high school. To be able to combine those interests, to mix passion with profession, has been a profound blessing in my life.

The approach of Weather Journal will not change. I want this to continue to be a respectful discussion, not a lecture.

I am not a meteorologist, I don't have a meteorology degree, and even if I did, I would have no reason to talk down to anybody about the weather.

While I do have lots of experience to share, I am simply an observer, like many of you. I often stop in fascination to look at an unusual cloud or listen to the wind roar through the trees. I always enjoy hearing about and seeing your own observations.

The changes I've described will begin with my column on the front of Virginia next Friday. There will be no Weather Journal items through the coming week before Friday, but the new short updates will begin the following Monday, April 7.

Sometimes even a new weather pattern brings the same old weather. My hope is that, after these changes, you'll find the same familiar Weather Journal, but maybe with a few interesting new twists now and then.

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