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Current Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Temperature: 84°F Wind: From the WNW at 15 mph Relative Humidity: 47% |
Extended Forecast Driving Conditions Vacation Planner Weather Alerts Air Quality |
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SUN Sunny 62°F...86°F |
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MON Partly Cloudy 66°F...87°F |
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TUE Scattered Thunderstorms 60°F...80°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.
This month's heat will probably be no match for August '07
By Kevin Myatt
The Roanoke Times
Our potential heat wave this week is getting squeezed from three directions.
First, a weak front and upper-level disturbance moved through Saturday. The showers and storms it brought, followed by an infusion of dry air on northwest winds, staved off extreme heat for at least one day.
Second, a new dip in the jet stream into the Great Lakes at midweek will likely push a cold front south. This will probably keep any extreme heat from going past Wednesday, and it may even turn cooler than normal by next weekend.
Third is the tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico. Its path is likely to be westward, away from us, so there may not be any direct effects, but its indirect effects could change the overall weather pattern.
So, as of now, it looks like we're left with a three-day period of above-normal, though not record-breaking, heat. Highs today through Wednesday may reach the low to mid 90s in much of Southwest Virginia, with Tuesday looking to be the hottest, possibly making a push toward 100.
The second half of the week looks to be more like what most of our summer has been -- warm and sticky, but not terribly hot, with scattered thunderstorms.
This month has a long way to go to challenge last year's scorching August. I don't think it has what it takes.
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