Monday, August 11, 2008
Weather columnist Kevin Myatt: Mild August weather not likely to approach heat-wave status soon
Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.
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- 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
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It doesn't get much better than this in August.
Mornings have been cool, commonly in the 50s across most of Southwest Virginia, while afternoons have risen into the upper 70s to mid-80s, warm but not sultry.
A year ago on Aug. 8-10, the mercury reached 100, 101 and 99 on successive days in Roanoke, and the lows were barely getting below 80.
Our air mass the past few days has built in from the northwest, originating in Canada. Last year at this time, it had come from the southwest, out of the hot desert and Plains areas.
Low dew points are the big reason we are seeing cool weather at night and a relatively wide range between morning lows and afternoon highs.
Water vapor in the air acts as an insulator. Temperatures rise and fall more slowly when the air is humid compared to when it is dry.
Dew points were usually in the 60s last year during our heat wave. This weekend, dew points have been as low as the 40s, and the relative humidity dropped to as low as 18 percent in Roanoke on Saturday.
Expect it to gradually warm and get a little more humid this week, but no drastic heat is in sight.
