Kevin Myatt

Latest entries from the Weather Journal blog

• Weather Journal taking a long break
• Yes, there's still an Atlantic tropical season going on
• Freezing temperatures likely tonight

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.

As Arctic system nears, a sprinkling of white stuff could multiply chill factor

So, how low will it go?

There's no doubting the strength of the Arctic air mass that is about to envelop most of the United States east of the Rockies -- it's the biggest and deepest in at least six years. But it's the nitty-gritty details that will determine just how cold it gets in Southwest Virginia.

You may have noticed that various TV and Internet sources have been bouncing around with our projected lows for Friday and Saturday morning.

The weather map on the back of the Virginia section of The Roanoke Times, prepared by Weather Central in Madison, Wis., forecast a low of minus 1 in Sunday's editions, but had backed all the way off to 12 degrees for Saturday morning in Tuesday's paper. Take a look for yourself what it shows today.

The exact position of the surface high pressure system pushing the cold air down is critical. If it sets up right over us, it will be colder.

Whether we get that one perfectly clear night with calm wind is also important. Any amount of wind and cloud cover limits radiational cooling, or heat from the surface escaping into the atmosphere.

Any amount of snow cover could make a huge difference. No big winter storms are in the offing, but even a quarter-inch out of a rogue snow shower tonight or Thursday could aid in reflecting heat away from the surface.

My best guess: a low of 7 in Roanoke and 2 in Blacksburg by Saturday morning -- very cold, but not historically so.