Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.

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• 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
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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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With another rainy cold front having cleared the area, some dry and cool days are on tap for Southwest Virginia.

The jet stream has flexed itself into a contortion that is allowing cooler air from Canada to swamp much of the eastern United States, while hot air builds through much of the West.

Think of the jet stream -- the fast-flowing river of air three to eight miles high that steers storm systems -- as a belt in a pulley system.

The jet stream is threaded above clockwise-rotating high pressure in the west, pushing it into Canada. But counter-clockwise low pressure over eastern Canada pulls the belt southward into the eastern United States, allowing cooler, drier air to move south with it.

This pattern usually produces some really pleasant, sunny days for Southwest Virginia. Days will be mild and nights cool early in the week, gradually warming through the week.

But the pattern also leads to fewer severe storms in the nation's midsection. That's good for many residents there, but it has led the Virginia Tech storm-chasing team to delay its trip to the Plains from Sunday's scheduled departure to later this week.

Weather Journal appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.