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.

Reservoirs should rise over wet weekend

Days of soaking rain appear to be likely for Southwest Virginia.

It won't be a continuous downpour, but several rounds of showers and, at times, longer periods of general rain are likely to affect the area starting today and continuing through the weekend.

The atmospheric flow aloft will turn out of the southwest, allowing Gulf of Mexico moisture to stream into the area.

A series of low pressure systems will move along that flow, each bringing a new round of rain.

Rainfall amounts of 2 inches or more may occur across much of Southwest Virginia through the weekend. A stronger cold front slamming into the moisture late in the weekend may trigger heavy rain and even thunderstorms.

So the reservoirs and water tables, strained most of the past four years, are likely to continue getting filled over the next several days.