Dog days are comingPosted Jul30, 2006 at 08:44 PMThe term "dog days" greatly offends my dog, and I can no longer go on about how August is my least favorite month of the year since my wife's birthday is right smack in the middle of it. But August will be coming in with all its grandeur as the upper level high pressure ridge that has been dogging the nation with heat waves this summer builds overhead at least through Wednesday. Tuesday will probably be our best shot at hitting the elusive 100-degree mark, with mid to upper 90s likely through at least Wednesday, maybe the entire week. Washed-up tropical systemPosted Jul28, 2006 at 04:31 PM
Heat returningPosted Jul26, 2006 at 05:58 PM
In the short term this week, expect warm to hot, sticky conditions with scattered afternoon thunderstorms. Weather in July and August usually comes in two varieties ... hot and humid, very hot and dry ... and it looks like we'll take turns tasting those flavors the next several days, and likely, the next few weeks. Time for a meteorological snoozePosted Jul25, 2006 at 05:47 PMWake me up when something happens. Looks like several days of routine summer weather ... hot but not extremely hot, humidity and haze, scattered afternoon thunderstorms. If you're like me, you're looking ahead to the first Canadian cold front in a couple of months that will start ushering fall in. Not much happening todayPosted Jul22, 2006 at 07:21 PMA lot of dry air has worked in at the surface on west-southwest winds, further dried out by riding downslope on the mountains, and so thunderstorms have not erupted as widespread as they were expected to. Most of the cells that have developed are fairly small, not intense, and fast-moving. The influx of cooler, drier air will spell a reprieve from the heat of recent days, as temperatures only gradually rebound into next week. Evening severe threatPosted Jul22, 2006 at 04:17 PM
The second area to watch is the line of storms visible in West Virginia. This line, marking the boundary of a strong cold front cutting into the hot air mass that has dominated weather across the U.S. the past week, will race eastward through the rest of the evening. Expect a fairly brief period of gusty winds and heavy rain as this line zips through later this evening. Bedford hammeredPosted Jul21, 2006 at 08:07 PMTonight, it has been Bedford's turn for severe thunderstorms. Among reports received by the National Weather Service: A creek overflowing into a shopping center, several roads closed due to high water, limbs and power lines blown down, and hail up to 1 inch in diamter falling for at least 20 minutes according to one public report. You can scroll through storm reports yourself by clicking here. A flash flood warning remains in effect for the city of Bedford and central Bedford County until 9:45 p.m. Email me, or comment below, if you've experienced any severe weather in the Bedford area, or elsewhere in Southwest Virginia, this evening. Severe thunderstorm threatPosted Jul21, 2006 at 11:40 AMAs a strong cold front moves into the hot, humid air mass in our area, thunderstorms are likely to erupt today and again, even more so, on Saturday. With strong upper-level winds for this time of year supporting these storms, long-lived and organized storms will be possible, increasing the risk of high winds from many of the storms. The biggest threat will be just east of the Blue Ridge in the Piedmont today, and throughout Western Virginia on Saturday. We'll have to take a close look on Saturday to see how likely it is that the upper-level wind flow can impart some rotation to the storms, which would increase the threat of a widespread outbreak of severe weather rather than just scattered, localized severe reports. In any event, torrential downpours are likely to occur with the heavier storms either day. Mid-America scorched by heatPosted Jul20, 2006 at 07:05 PMCombine severe storms with high winds one night with sweltering the heat the next day in a major metropolitan area, and you have the recipe for a crisis like is happening in St. Louis today. Click here for the AP story. A brutal heat wave has scorched the nation's mid-section for several days. Every official reporting station in Oklahoma has exceeded 100 degrees the last two days. A cold front is coming to that region this weekned as the upper air pattern reorganizes, but the winds behind the front might bring a wildfire threat in the parched prairies. Here we go again?Posted Jul20, 2006 at 02:01 PMThe Storm Prediction Center has highlighted all of western Virginia for a slight risk of severe weather today, primarily for the threat of localized high wind gusts in microbursts. Overall, conditions don't look quite as primed as Wednesday, with no mechanism for large-scale forcing of air upward as happened with the sinking cold front on Wednesday. But afternoon heating, increasing moisture, and the ridge-and-valley geography of our area could be enough to fire a few more storms, any one of which might, over a small area, produce enough downdraft wind to do some damage. Looks like we have several days ahead carrying the threat of microburst winds and locally torrential downpours. Downtown damagePosted Jul19, 2006 at 05:55 PM
Observing from the Roanoke Times pedestrian bridge over Second Street, I would estimate the winds as gusting to as high as 65 mph, not an uncommonly high speed in a microburst. The bridge was shaking in the wind. There was also some small hail. Reports that the Roanoke Times building has partially collapsed are not true. We're still here, working away. Some of the museum debris has blown onto the building and across the parking lot. Winds were out of the north here during the peak gusts, shortly before 6 p.m., while blowing out of the east and then south-southeast at the Roanoke Regional Airport. That would be consistent with a downburst of wind occurring somewhere over north or northeast Roanoke, and the winds scattering outward from there. Winds would coverge toward a central point were it a tornadic vortex ... though one TV radar report and at least one observer I talked to suggested there may have been some weak rotation in the storm. Reports of trees down and some hail 3/4 inch or larger are coming in from Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem. The storms responsible for this damage have continued this evening, affecting counties to our south. This round of severe weather was caused by a cold front sinking south into hot, humid air that has given us a few uncomfortable days. The photo above is by Roanoke Times photographer Kyle Green. Click here for additional photos by Green and Eric Brady.
Severe thunderstorm warningPosted Jul19, 2006 at 05:14 PMA severe thunderstorm warning is effective until 6 p.m. for Roanoke, Salem, and Roanoke County. That's what all the rumbling's about outside. Expect the potential for strong gusty winds exceeding 55 mph, hail 3/4 inch or greater in diameter, torrential downpours and dangerous lightning with this small but powerful storm. It won't affect everyone in the Roanoke metro area, but some folks could get quite a jolt from it. Not as hot, but more humidPosted Jul19, 2006 at 04:57 PMIt is a little cooler today, with temperatures hovering around 90 ... but since the dew point is 10 degrees higher than it was on Tuesday, it doesn't feel any better with that added humidity. The heat and humidity are triggering scattered storms across the area. The Storm Prediction Center noted the potential for high winds and hail in some storms earlier today, and a severe thunderstorm warning was recently issued for the Lynchburg area. Meanwhile ... Tropical Storm Beryl looks like it'll barrel on past the coast, so watches for the Outer Banks have been lifted. Heat wave wimps outPosted Jul18, 2006 at 10:20 PMThis heat wave never really got going for us. It only made 95 in Roanoke, when 97-100 seemed likely for today just a couple days ago. Now, the field is shifting ... a backdoor cold front approaches from the north, the high causing the heat slips westward, and a new player on the scene, Tropical Storm Beryl, spins off the East Coast. Its counterclockwise circulation will only serve to increase the southward tug on the cold front. We even got a few isolated thunderstorms to fire here and there today, mostly over West Virginia, today. I hope you got a chance to see the beautiful cumulus towers building skyward around the area today, those cauliflower-topped clouds rising in plumes of white. Those kind of clouds are common in summer, but rarely do they occur with the visibility and blue skies we've had the last couple of days. This hot, dry day with little haze and a few cumulus towers was more like a day in New Mexico than in Southwest Virginia. Looks like we'll have more widespread showers and storms on Wednesday as the front approaches. Rather than wondering if it will hit 100, the temperatures may be struggling to hit 90 the rest of this week. Tropical depression threatens Outer BanksPosted Jul18, 2006 at 01:57 PM
For more, go to the National Hurricane Center web site. 100 today? Probably notPosted Jul18, 2006 at 11:32 AMWith it just 84 degrees at 11 a.m. in Roanoke, while much of the rest of Virginia and North Carolina is already around 90, I'm doubting that it will hit 100 degrees today. The mid 90s, probably; the upper 90s, around 97 or 98, possibly. You can usually subtract about 5 degrees for the high in Blacksburg. The Martinsville area might flirt with 100. With dewpoints in the mid to upper 60s, heat index values will be around 100 today ... so it's still wise to drink lots of fluids and avoid working outside at the hottest part of the day if you can. Follow hour by hour temperatures at area locations by clicking below: Roanoke Frontal assault on heat wave?Posted Jul16, 2006 at 08:51 PMHow far south can a "backdoor" cold front ... or one that moves south or southwest toward us fromNew England ... get this week? That could be the key determinant in whether this is just a hot summer week or an extremely hot summer week. If the front can get close to us, or pass by, it might short-circuit the heat wave by Wednesday. Being close to us could trigger some thunderstorms to break the afternoon heat; passing us could bring slightly cooler air in to trim high temperatures a bit in the latter half of the week. Monday and Tuesday still look to be very hot, with highs in the mid 90s likely in the Roanoke area, near 90 in the New River Valley. Tuesday will be our best shot at making a push toward 100 degrees; I wouldn't be surprised to see a high of 97 or 98 in Roanoke that day, with 100 certainly not out of the question, and a better chance of triple digits out east in the Piedmont. Record highs for this time of year run 100 to 102 in Roanoke, so it'll have to push hard to set any records. Depending on what happens with the front, we could have some additional very hot days Wednesday through Friday, or we could back down a bit into the upper 80s and lower 90s. Keep cool the next two days, and stay tuned on the rest of the week. Heat on the wayPosted Jul15, 2006 at 08:25 PM
Has this weather got your goat?Posted Jul14, 2006 at 11:18 PM
Meeka Taylor of Independence in Grayson County sent these photos of Thursday's storm damage that occurred in that area. It looks like Nana Bell the goat is none too happy about these thunderstorms we've been having lately, as its little house was overturned in strong winds on Thursday afternoon. (click here for bigger image)  If your house tips over, like Nana Bell's did, it doesn't really matter if it was a tornado or "just strong winds" that did it. Mill Mountain storm photoPosted Jul13, 2006 at 09:30 PM9:45 p.m. The severe thunderstorm watch has been lifted. Despite several severe thunderstorm warnings, it looks like we got out of today's bout of storms with only a little scattered wind damage, mostly to the south of Roanoke, and especially in North Carolina. You can scroll down through the National Weather Service's storm reports for a complete listing. 
Storm over Roanoke -- photoPosted Jul13, 2006 at 04:18 PM
Click here for a larger version of the photo. If you have photos of today's storms, or reports of severe weather, please email me or comment below. Severe thunderstorm watch until 9 p.m.Posted Jul13, 2006 at 02:37 PM2:40 p.m. A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for our area until 9 p.m. tonight. As we discussed earlier, the primary threat from these storms will be damaging winds in wet microbursts, or intense downbursts of wind from the storms. A cluster of storms is currently along the Virginia-West Virginia border west of Roanoke. This has prompted one severe thunderstorm warning for Craig County. This cluster will likely move into the Roanoke area in the next hour or two. More storms, heavy rainPosted Jul13, 2006 at 11:25 AMThe Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., has placed our area in a slight risk for severe weather this afternoon, mainly for the threat of "wet microbursts," or sudden downward blasts of wind within heavy rains that fall out of thunderstorms that develop this afternoon. A cold front that has pushed southward from New England and eastern Canada is stalling west to east across the area today, and this will act as a trigger for convection in the daytime heating and soupy humidity. Expect some storms to cause locally heavy rain, with the potential for some flash flooding. A few places could get 2 inches or more of rain in under an hour. Most of us will see some rain and hear some thunderstorm this afternoon and evening, but with lesser amounts. Deluge and droughtPosted Jul11, 2006 at 09:40 PMFlash flood warnings and urban/small stream flood advisories went up early this evening for areas of Botetourt and Alleghany counties from Oriskany to Covington. The National Weather Service in Blacksburg reported that an automatic rain gauge near Oriskany recorded about 3 inches of rain in a short period of time this afternoon. Some roads were covered by water near Covington. We're now in a pattern of afternoon and evening thunderstorms ... just a distant rumble of thunder for one area, with an enormous downpour for another not far away. Except for the occasional front or upper level disturbance, the only triggers will be daytime heating and Western Virginia's ridge-and-valley topography. On the other end of the spectrum ... Louisiana is experiecing its worst drought in a century, despite last fall's strikes by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It's a bad drought when two of the most powerful hurricanes on record in the Atlantic can't stop it. Roanoke skyscapesPosted Jul08, 2006 at 10:35 PM
Back on June 28, I referred to some pretty storm clouds in the area. Here's a shot I took from the Martin Luther King Jr. pedestrian bridge in downtown Roanoke, looking west toward a thunderstorm near Salem. This storm fascinated me, because it's shape and color -- a dark blue thunderhead, backlit by the late-day sun with a distinct profile against an orange and pink sky -- reminded me of a mini-version of a Plains supercell. It wasn't one, but rather a pulse storm, blowing itself out in a rush of wind and rain that barely made it to downtown. But what a gorgeous evening sky it created! 
If you ever have any spectacular, newsworthy, interesting or just pretty shots of ongoing weather, please email me and we'll post it here, with full credit of course. Tornadoes, or not? Additional photosPosted Jul07, 2006 at 09:54 PM
 The drought ... then and nowPosted Jul07, 2006 at 06:28 PM
Now take a look at the most recent drought monitor map, below, issued Thursday (July 6). Where did all those bright colors go?  Report on Hurricane KatrinaPosted Jul07, 2006 at 05:18 PMFor those of you who may be interested, the National Weather Service has issued its final assessment on Hurricane Katrina, linked here. The report, in PDF format, covers not only the statistical data from the storm, but also assesses the National Weather Service's forecasts and warning during the hurricane. While I was away ...Posted Jul06, 2006 at 10:33 AMWow, I go out of state a few days and things go nuts ... lots of reports of wind damage and flooding, some reports of large hail, on July 3, 4 and 5. So far, this is a much different summer than I expected. With a deep jet stream trough digging in the next few days, bringing down cooler, drier weather from Canada, it's likely to continue. If this pattern keeps up, we'll have occasional bouts of heavy rain and storms, followed by unseasonably cool, dry periods throughout the summer. I expected a hot, dry summer. Still time for that to develop down the road, but it's far off now. |
