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.

Summer slowly starting to heat up

This week, July might finally be getting the memo that it's supposed to be summer.

The weekend's warm stickiness with scattered showers and storms fit the bill for what we expect in July, unlike the first 10 days of the month.

Roanoke's temperatures averaged 3.8 degrees below normal in July's first 10 days, while Blacksburg's were 3.7 degrees below normal.

Four of the first 10 days of July failed to reach 80 degrees in Roanoke, and five of the first 10 came short in Blacksburg, including a high of only 64 on a rainy July 5.

Roanoke has had only four 90-degree days so far this year -- three in June, one way back in April. The hottest it has been was 91, on April 25, June 2 and June 26. Blacksburg has yet to have a 90-degree day in 2009.

The trend this week, with high pressure heading our way from the southwest, will be for gradually rising temperatures, with highs in the 80s to possibly the low 90s by Thursday or so. Humidity will be sufficient for scattered showers and thunderstorms several days this week.

Weather Journal appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.