Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.

kevin.myatt
@roanoke.com
981-3341

Weather with Kevin Myatt

Recent columns

• We got graupel, but not on official record
• Moisture could get caught up in cold blast
• Forecast for Weather Journal: Partly print, with frequent Internet
• Column archive

Read the Weather Journal blog

• 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
• Weather Journal blog

#swvawx on Twitter

@KevinMyattWx

• Follow Kevin on Twitter at @KevinMyattWx

I get asked a lot about what's going to happen this winter, but I'm going to turn the tables back on you. E-mail me at kevin.myatt@roanoke.com with your name and hometown, and answer these questions.

(1) When will the first official 1-inch snowfall of the season be recorded in Roanoke? When I say 1 inch, I mean at least 1.0 inch recorded in one calendar day or two consecutive calendar days, as reported by the National Weather Service in its daily climate report.

(2) How much snowfall, rounded to the nearest inch, will Roanoke record between now and April 15?

About 22 inches is considered normal, but we've varied from 3 inches in 1973 to 63 inches in 1960.

Any reader in Southwest Virginia (or if you have another tie to the area but live elsewhere, let me know in your e-mail) can enter, but remember -- you're predicting for Roanoke's official measurement, not your back yard.

There is no real prize for winning, other than the glory of having your name and forecasting prowess declared in a Weather Journal column next spring.

While I'll note who does best on each question, I'll score the overall contest this way: 1 point for each day off the first snow call, 1 point for each inch off the season total call. Like golf, whoever has the lowest score wins.

I will be coming out with my annual winter forecast near Thanksgiving, but this contest wouldn't be right unless I stuck out my neck to make a guess, too.

My predictions: First 1-inch snow on Dec. 16. Total of 17 inches for the season.

So bring it on.