Remembering a Weather Journal snow lover who recently passed away
It’s possible you may have read a recent Roanoke Times article about Kat Werner, a 37-year-old breast cancer survivor who died after suffering a blood clot following the birth of her fourth child. It has been brought to my attention that Kat was a “snow fan” from Blacksburg who followed Weather Journal closely during the winter months. She posted 22 comments to the blog as “Kat W.” My favorite comment of hers came last F
eb. 18, when late-night models appeared to be moving a snow south of us, and snow fans were distraught. “Who knew that poor Kevin would have to be a meteorologist AND a therapist?,” Kat posted. Once the snow materialized the next day, Kat sang a different tune: “This is crazy. Poor daffodils, they must be so confused. The snow-pessimist in me is in disbelief, but I do love some snow!” Her final comment was posted on March 5 as an Alberta clipper dropped road-covering snow accumulation in the New River Valley, and it revealed her love for her children, as she questioned why there was school on such a day. “What was Montgomery County thinking?” she asked. So, whether you like snow or not, think of Kat the next time the blog is in the snow lover/snow hater tug-of-war mode as we are facing a potential winter weather situation. There is information at the end of the linked article about how to give to support Kat’s family.
Once the damp wedge breaks from the Roanoke Valley eastward — could be some patches of dense fog in the morning — Southwest Virginia is due for an unseasonably warm early October day on Wednesday with highs in the upper 70s to mid 80s across the region. It will not be quite as warm, but will remain dry, Thursday and Friday before we deal with the next cold front and a chance of showers over the weekend.
October 3, 2012 - 1:37 AM
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The Weather Channel can name winter storms whatever they want to this season. We’ll just name all our snows “Kat.”
So sad. Memento mori.
Bless her…
And bless those she left behind.
She, I suppose , loved the idea of nature
leaving behind a pure world..one that we all want to visit again and again.
Bless her heart..and I hope she watches over us as we all as we
wait for that which covers the scars in us all.
Seasons and snows may be what we all embrace .
Bless her.
Thank you for sharing this Kevin. Kat’s death was a real shock in the Hokie community. Watching the first ‘Kat’ snowflakes of the winter will be a lovely way to remember her.
I don’t watch TV. Have not had cable since 2006 and realize that makes me ‘culturally illiterate’ but haven’t missed it at all. I do watch DVDs on occasion and sometimes PBS (but I can do that online). Just finished Ken Burn’s series “The War”. Powerful stuff! Doug – that series talks about the effects of WW2 on Mobile, AL. This blog is way better than any TV!
I’m doing a night of camping near Williamsburg Friday and some archaeology Saturday and hope the weather behaves itself. Right now it is looking really nice.
Winter storm watches are up for northeastern North Dakota and northern Minnesota for 6-plus inches of snow.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fgf/
My heart goes out to her Family. I recall reading the therapist comment last year and got a good laugh out of it.
RIP Kat.
Some of the models want to cut enough cold air into the backside of moisture with the cold front this weekend for some snowflakes over in WVa. Maybe a little bit more than just flurries.
Weather service has backed off the warmer highs in the mid 80s, partly because a disturbance may spread some more clouds, and even trigger a few showers especially east of Roanoke today.
RIP KAT. Nice words, Kevin. My sister Donna is a breast cancer survivor herself, but she had a huge advantage over Kat, although it may not have been breast cancer that was the cause of Kat’s passing. Donna was 66 when she was first diagnosed …. most internal cancers spread much more slowly the older a person is.
It is warmer in ROA right now (66*) than it is here in Natchez (59*). But it is an hour earlier and much sunnier/clear here than ROA and Bburg, I bet. It is headed for the low 80s here …. allegedly.
OK, Michael Hoback and other folks who know the answer to this one …. After a huge roll of hay (haystack) gets soaked, how many days of dry, sunny weather does it require for it to fully dry? My dad mentioned a number to me decades ago, but I will keep it to myself for now. Besides, he may have been wrong on this one.
God Bless Kat and her family. I, too, remember the therapist comment from last year.
I say let it snow
Leaf report: Colors first. Yellows–Popular, Sassafras, Hickory, Ash, Sumac. Reds–Dogwoods, Gums, ever present Va. Creeper and come maple.
Location– Rte. 694 between Rte 221 and Salem, across 12 O’clock Knob.
Elevation–
1,000′ to 1,500′– Mainly dogwoods. Spotty.
1,500′ to 2,000′– Reds w/yellows. Scattered.
2,000′ to 2,500′– Yellows and reds. Fair showing.
2,500′ to 3,000′– Decent. Reds and yellows.
Summary. Some leaf drop occurring at all elevations but not excessive. Color- Minimal, except higher locations. Looks like at least 2 weeks for them to put on a show and it might not be a watchwinder then.
Somebody from the coast emailed me a few days ago about whether this weekend or next weekend would be better for local leaf viewing. I advised them to do the later weekend. We’re running earlier on fall foliage than the last few years, and maybe even a little earlier than normal. Cold mornings with warm afternoons early next week may really help turn the colors.
I like the naming of the snows this winter after Kat. An early snow would be named “The November Kat”? Or maybe we’d just go with Kat1, Kat2 and Kat3?
Kevin, is the chance of rain going to be decent over the weekend? Have some fertilizer to put down and wondering if we will at least get a 1/4 inch to wash it in. Weather station says 50% chance and weather channel isn’t really calling for anything. So who to believe?
For now, chances of rain look “decent” over the weekend, and maybe better in your part of the state than down here in your “old” part of the state. Don’t expect a ton, though. Showery, quarter-half inch kinda stuff, unless something changes.
Quite a few leaves are coming down since the wind picked up here on the Knob. Also, the leaves are wet and heavy, but still lacking decent color. Agree on the later weekend.
Glad to hear the foliage will be better next weekend, as I’m headed up to Cass Scenic Railroad and Snowshoe to do some leaf watching next Fri/Sat. I’m hoping I’m not past the peak color up there at that elevation, and more importantly, I’m hoping there’s no clouds on the 20th since I’m headed up to Bald Knob at 4800 feet in elevation (although a quick clipper-snow squall would be cool).
We see this kind of map almost every year from Accuweather, but it rarely materializes. Here we go again with more snow than Doug would care for!
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/winter-forecast-snow-northeast-nyc/80787
Sad news, indeed. Whenever we get enough decent snow for packing, my wife and I let our inner kids out and we make a snowcat in the front yard (complete with food color tabby stripes). This year, I think we shall make a snowKat.
So sorry about the loss of a fellow blogger but she is in a better place . Will keep her family and friends on our prayers.
Looks like Kat would love Accuweathers official winter forecast! Then again the weather channel is completely opposite, who knows which to trust? LOL Guess we will have to wait and see!
My thoughts go out to our “snow Kat’s” family and friends. This is incredibly sad to hear. I always wondered, Kevin, how would we know if something happened to one of our little “community” here. Thank you for letting us know.
Very sorry about the loss of a fellow blogger. My condolences to her family and friends.
Jared, I looked on line for TWC’s Winter forecast but could not find it. Wanna provide a link?
I haven’t posted on here in a long while, but I have checked in about 2-3 times a week since last winter. Your post, Kevin, reminds me of why I like this blog and the other posters. My condolences to her family.
In more general weather news, the Weather Channel has a low of 34 for Roanoke! Maybe we’ll get a frost to kill the ragweed?
Peace Kat!
To clarify my comment #24: that is for Monday. Didn’t mean to suggest that about the next few days haha.
What a sweet post. Condolences to Kat’s family.
This was brought to my attention by Kat’s brother. Once I got to looking back at comments, I remembered the “Kat W” posts and in particular the therapist comment. Because of her post on Montgomery County schools not letting out, Kat also got interviewed for a Roanoke Times article that day.
http://m.roanoke.com/mapp/story.aspx?arcID=305818
If anyone ever knows of something important happening to anyone else in Weather Journal nation (if I may use that grandiose term often applied to sports teams and their fans), please email me and let me know. There are several on here who I don’t know their real names, as the User Name and sometimes even the email address can be cryptic.
34 is not unreasonable for Monday morning, though I would lean 3-4 degrees higher, at least for Roanoke. Strong punch of Arctic air on the way. Thinking WVa mountains may see season’s first snowflakes on Saturday.
I have been out volunteering today so I am just now catching up on the blog. Kevin, thank you so much for writing the excellent blog entry for today. My heartfelt thoughts and sincerest condolences to Kat’s family. Yes, by all means we should name all of our snows “Kat” – Kat 1, Kat 2, Kat 3 etc and with the first decent snowfall a snowman should be built in her honor.
It looks like rain here now – clouding over and cooling down. The stink bugs are knocking on the sides of our house wanting in. I guess it is time to get that wood brought in and to take the caps off of the chimneys. The seasons are a changin’.
Wow, sure was muggy today. It felt like a summer day with the highs in the 80s. Come on Canada send that cold air southward!
Supposed to go watch Bluefield College (one of my alumni) football game against UVA Wise Saturday. Would be really cool to see some flakes flying while at the game. Gametime is at 6 pm, what are my chances of seeing some flakes?
Latest model data suggests it will be more like Sunday morning when the cold air cuts into moisture in WVa. Best chance will be Snowshoe area and points north and west. Would not be surprised to see first white ground of season somewhere like Canaan Valley or Snowshoe. Flurries unlikely to get below 3,000 foot level or cross WVa line into Va — this time.
I’m not going to put an update atop this particular blog entry — but there are a few showers streaking north-northeastward from NC into western Va. Radar/Futurecast shows some of them, filling in data over SW Va from nearby radar sites.
Thoughts and best wishes to the ladys family. A true loss. X-2 for naming the storms for her. Thanks Kevin, for bringing it up. Knew I should have put out my blowup Halloween decorations today after I mowed the grass twice and it was dry. However, the ground was still wet and you almost have to lay down to anchor the monsters. Oh well, I’ve been wet before and as long as there’s no soap in it, I’ll survive. DC, you runnin late this year. Got mine down to a match.
The loss of a single station doesn’t really affect that much. Wunderground with the regional map gives a good look at the pattern and Charleston WV site shows our area, just not in the detail the Check site does. Kevins site also does a good job. So, not the end of the world, just maybe not the detail you’d like in a snow event. That’s what windows are for.
20 years ago the data hole would have been much greater with a radar site down like this.
Other John, I love the idea of a SnowKat….I’ll do one with Hokie colors.
Doug Griggs, reporting from Daphne, Alabama, near Mobile:
“OK, who to trust about the outlook for this winter, my 2nd favorite Whipping Boy, The Weather Channel, (which predicts mild weather and very little snow for our area through December) or Notso-Accuweather, my Favorite WB?? How about “C,” neither of the above? Normal total snowfall for SW VA this winter? I bet quite a few of you snow-lovers would accept that deal.”
“I do not mind snowfalls in October or November, and usually not in late February or March (unless they are adding to existing snowpiles). Seriously. Because the odds are skyhigh that the snow will not stick around long. It is the ones between Dec. 1st and roughly Presidents’ Day that I worry about. Especially ones that fall on Dec. 18-19.”
Interesting post Kevin. When did the Check site go on line and before then, where were sites covering this area located? I remember passing the site in Volens many times probably 30/35 years ago. Assume Blacksburg had a site but not sure whether ROA had one or not. Radar then was not something normal mortals had or was concerned about. TV was the radar site then, but not nearly as good as today, I’m sure. What’s really interesting is in 1944 before the Normandy invasion, radar played a huge role. And later charts from German files showed almost the exact same chart. Strictly a matter of interpretation might have decided the outcome of WW11.
Some interesting questions, WD, that I don’t have immediate answers on. Perhaps I should find some. I’m presuming the NEXRAD site at Check probably went online in 1995, when the Doppler was first installed. NWS relocated from Roanoke to Blacksburg shortly thereafter.
Radar on TV weathercasts was very common even in the late 1970s on the stations we watched in the Little Rock and Memphis markets, albeit very primative compared to what we can see on smartphones and laptops today. The hyper-concern about violent tornadoes was the reason. In the 1980s, the small ABC station in my hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas, took the unusual step of purchasing and having installed its own Doppler radar, and still has its own radar site today. Most TV radars you see use National Weather Service radar data, filtered through their own software.
wdbrand – yep, running a little late this year but thanks for making me smile.
I am just taking an educated guess but I think the Doppler is officially down now. I use Intellicast Radar for looking at the area and now there is a pink square at FCX. So I am guessing it is down. I will use the Charlotte radar till the ball is upgraded.
The more distant radars may overestimate the actual rain reaching the ground, since they are shooting high in the atmosphere. But they will give some idea of what’s going on.