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.

Hurricane season still in early days

As we begin August, there have yet to be any hurricanes or tropical storms in the Atlantic.

Really, that's not a big deal.

According to National Hurricane Center statistics, the average date for the season's first hurricane is Aug. 14. Also, on average, only one named tropical storm has formed by Aug. 1.

A lack of early activity is not necessarily a harbinger of an inactive Atlantic hurricane season.

In 2004, the season's first named storm, Alex, didn't form until July 31, then became a hurricane on Aug. 3. That season went on to produce five hurricane strikes on the U.S. coast with Charley, Frances, Gaston, Ivan and Jeanne. The remnants of three of those storms -- Frances, Ivan and Jeanne -- had a major impact on Southwest Virginia's weather with floods and tornadoes.

Most other recent years have had early tropical development in the Atlantic basin, perhaps heightening our expectations for tropical systems in June and July. By this time a year ago, there had already been two hurricanes and two tropical storms.

However, by itself, the fact that there have not yet been any tropical storms or hurricanes in the Atlantic doesn't mean much.

Atlantic hurricanes tend to hit their stride over the next six to eight weeks. Let's hold off a bit on making any bold characterizations of what the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season will become.