Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.

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• Coldest morning of winter so far likely across much of Southwest Virginia; Tuesday precipitation looking doubtful
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Locations in states to our north such as Binghamton, N.Y., and State College, Pa., got their earliest recorded snowfall of at least 1 inch late this past week.

That snow event was a little like the one that brought a snowfall to a region from the Central Appalachians through the mid-Atlantic states and into the Northeast 30 years ago.

On Oct. 10, 1979, 10 inches of snow fell at Covington, 4 inches at Hot Springs, 2 inches at New Castle and slightly more than an inch at Lexington. It's also considered to be the earliest measurable snow on record in Roanoke, according to the National Weather Service, with 0.3 inch accumulating.

Perhaps the event that most clearly dates the October 1979 snowstorm in the past is that it (or, more specifically, the cold rain that preceded the snow) postponed the World Series opening game in Baltimore between the homestanding Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Roanoke's earliest recorded snowfall of at least 1 inch occurred Oct. 27, 1957. Since 1948, measurable snow has occurred in October at Roanoke just twice -- 1957 and 1979 -- and occurs in November about once every three years, usually in very small amounts.

Though some areas north and west of Roanoke may see freezing temperatures this morning, there won't be any more chances of snow the rest of this week, as temperatures gradually warm back to near 70 in the afternoons by late week.

Weather Journal runs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.