Kevin Myatt

Latest entries from the Weather Journal blog

• Weather Journal remains on break
• Coastal low prompts Southwest Virginia flooding
• Hurricane Ida: Something extraordinary may be happening

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.

Upslope snow showers got some help from swirling air

Upslope snow events typically happen 10 or more times between November and April, but they usually don't dump 1 to 3 inches in the New River Valley and dust the grass and car tops in the Roanoke Valley.

This one had some help upstairs.

Upslope snow showers occur as cold northwest winds glide up the western side of the Appalachians, lifting whatever moisture is available, condensing that moisture in cooler air aloft and squeezing out snow. Usually, only the higher elevations and west-facing slopes get significant snowfall.

On Monday night and early Tuesday, an upper-level disturbance crossed the mountains. This upward swirl of very cold air aloft enhanced the lifting motion and provided instability.

We tend to think of instability as a warm-season phenomenon, when muggy air near the surface lifts into colder aloft, firing thunderstorms. But, when temperatures aloft are extremely low -- many degrees below zero -- cold air in the 20s and 30s at the surface is relatively "warm" and rises into that much colder air aloft.

These more intense snow squalls were better able to survive the trip over the mountains, and as a result, the New River and Roanoke valleys got much more snow than we typically do in an upslope snow situation.

Meanwhile, the favored locations that usually get a few inches in upslope snow got buried. More than a foot fell in the mountains northwest of Lewisburg, W.Va., and Snowshoe Mountain ski resort reported 2 feet.

Another upslope snow event is possible Thursday with a new cold front, but don't expect a repeat. This one wrung out most of the moisture.