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.

90 is hard to reach for in '09

In an average August, there are nine days that reach 90 degrees or higher in Roanoke.

But in 2009, there have only been nine days that have reached 90 degrees on higher in the entire year through August. A typical year has 33 days of 90-plus heat.

August has had four 90-degree days, more than any other month this year, including the longest stretch of 90-degree weather this season, a three-day period from Aug. 9 to 11. That included the year's highest temperature to date, 92 on Aug. 9.

That's the closest thing to a "heat wave" that summer '09 has been able to produce.

With a cloudy, showery day today that might struggle to reach even 70, it's pretty safe to say 90-degree weather is over for August.

Whether there will be a 10th 90-degree day in 2009 is doubtful.

September averages four 90-degree days, according to National Weather Service statistics. But there is a tendency for hot fall weather to be more likely if the summer before it was hot.

Don't look for any 90-degree weather this week. In fact, with a shot of cooler air from Canada arriving, it will take a push just to reach 80 by late in the week.