Monday, August 10, 2009
Weather columnist Kevin Myatt: August not as hot as you might think
Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.
kevin.myatt
@roanoke.com
981-3341
Weather with Kevin Myatt
Recent columns
- 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
- Column archive
Read the Weather Journal blog
- 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
- Weather Journal blog
#swvawx on Twitter
@KevinMyattWx
So which is hotter, July or August?
Any measure of average temperatures over a long term points to July as clearly the hotter of the two summer months.
But if you ask me which is hotter and I answer without thinking, I'll instinctively say, "August."
That probably dates back to some Arkansas memories, but Southwest Virginians also have some reason to vacillate.
From 1948 to 2008, July was Roanoke's hottest month, based on average temperatures, in 44 of those years. August was the hottest in 16 years, and June was once (in 2000).
But the single hottest month on record was not a July, but an August -- just two years ago, in 2007.
Remember that? It's the triple-crown winner for hot months in Roanoke, dating all the way to 1912, with the highest average temperature (82.1 degrees), highest average high temperature (93.7 degrees) and highest average low temperature (70.6 degrees) on record. Roanoke hit at least 90 on 27 of the month's 31 days and reached or exceeded 100 on four days.
Also, many in Southwest Virginia recall the torrid spell in August 1983. That's when Aug. 20 to 22 were 104, 105 and 104, respectively, in Roanoke.
Maybe it's just my perception that August seems hotter, as it often comes after a long stretch of sultry weeks when the heat has begun to wear on me.
That's not the case this year, however, as July was among the coolest on record. With a significantly hotter pattern setting up, August is quite likely to be the hottest month of 2009. But it still has to beat out June -- not July.
Weather Journal appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
