Kevin Myatt

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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.

August not as hot as you might think

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.

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