2009.11.03
Freezing temperatures likely tonight
UPDATE 5:15 PM: A frost advisory has been issued for Wednesday morning generally for the Roanoke Valley and regions south and east, those that were only brushed by freezing temperatures for a couple of hours back on Oct. 19. END UPDATE
Near-freezing temperatures are expected in the Roanoke Valley on Wednesday morning and sub-freezing temperatures are likely in many other parts of Southwest Virginia as a dry air mass and lengthening nights allow for rapid temperature dropping after sunset. Freeze and frost advisories have not been issued since cold mornings on Oct. 19 and 20 effectively ended the growing season in most areas. Still, if you have any plants you've put back outside in some of the sunny, warmer days, get them in tonight.
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Your last newspaper column prompts me to ask......how often to Blacksburg and Roanoke have the same date for the first snow? I am curious because while my wife and I have already submitted our contest predictions.....she picked the same date for both sites.
Comment by Rick — November 3, 2009 @ 3:02 pm
Rick: A casual look suggests the dates are same about 1 in every 4 years, or so. Roanoke and Blacksburg tend to have the same first 1-inch snow date when it is the result of a large, areawide winter storm. Blacksburg has the earlier date when it is the result of a northwest-wind upslope event (like last year) or a borderline wet snow that is elevation-dependent. Still haven't studied the few years when Roanoke was first, but I would guess it would be a scenario where the western edge of snow shield caught Roanoke but not Blacksburg, or when a cold air mass moved in just late enough on a rain shield to catch it and turn it to snow at Roanoke after it had cleared Blacksburg.
Comment by Kevin Myatt — November 3, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
We definitely fell to below freezing overnight and had a solid coating of frost on everything when I left for work. Our growing season ended a few weeks ago though and the leaves on our crape myrtles all turned and fell after our first solid frost. Our grass continue to grow somewhat, but it's Kentucky 31 which is a cooler season grass anyway. It's nice, because during the heat of the summer, it turns brown so we don;t have to mow often, though the weeds tend to be a problem when that happens. But, we get a very nice carpet of grass in the fall and spring, and it stays fairly green in the winter too. I'll probably overseed with a warm weather Bluegrass so I have something that can survive the summer months and still keep weeds at bay. Definitely looking forward to the winter though, hoping for some decent snow this year!
Comment by Other John — November 4, 2009 @ 1:58 pm