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Current Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Temperature: 83°F Wind: From the NW at 12 mph Relative Humidity: 32% |
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SAT Sunny 60°F...83°F |
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SUN Partly Cloudy 61°F...85°F |
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MON Partly Cloudy 61°F...83°F |
Latest entries from the Weather Journal blog
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.
Having a frosty morning this time of year isn't too unusual in the region
By Kevin Myatt
The Roanoke Times
We're not done with chilly mornings.
A Canadian air mass will settle into much of the Eastern United States behind a strong cold front that will kick up some rain and storms today.
By Tuesday morning and especially on Wednesday morning, temperatures will likely be dipping into the 30s across parts of Southwest Virginia. Roanoke probably will not reach the freezing mark, though it's not entirely out of the question for Wednesday.
There is a good chance however, that some outlying areas, especially the deeper rural valleys, will see freezing temperatures.
The average last-freeze date varies greatly by location across Southwest Virginia because of elevation and topography.
Using National Weather Service data from 1971 to 2000, the period of time from which our "normal" climate statistics are figured, Roanoke's average last-freeze date is April 12.
For the same period, the average last-freeze date is April 22 for Buena Vista, April 23 for Buchanan, April 28 for Lexington, April 30 for Martinsville, May 3 for Hot Springs, May 5 for Pulaski, May 8 for Wytheville and May 9 for Bland. At Tazewell County's Burkes Garden, a high-elevation valley entirely encircled by mountain ridges, the average last freeze is May 16.
So even if a few locations dip to 32 degrees this week, the record books won't be rewritten.
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