Stormy day, another rainy nightPosted Jun26, 2006 at 07:58 PMBetween Roanoke and Boones Mill shortly after 4 p.m. today, I ran though an intense thunderstorm with frequent lightning and some of the heaviest rain I've ever seen since I've lived in this area. Water was overflowing ditches onto U.S. 220 in just a few minutes. I was not surprised when a flash flood warning was issued for Franklin County. I had heard the tornado warning for Henry County and was trying to get where I could see that storm. I didn't get far enough south to see any of the funnel clouds reported around Martinsville, but I saw some roiling storm clouds on the south side of the Franklin County storm. (I have been shooting a few photos during this rainy episode, and hope to have some up eventually ... I'm using old-fashioned film with a digital camera being repaired, so it'll be a few days, if I have anything worth posting.) There are so many flood warnings and advisories out now that I won't even attempt to summarize them here. Go to the National Weather Service-Blacksburg Web site, linked here, for a complete rundown of those. We may end up with a similar setup tonight as last night, with a broad area of constant rain, interspersed with heavy downpours. With each time this happens, the potential consequences get worse, as at least the outer soil is now saturated and many streams are running near bank full. Today's tornado warning in Henry County also signals a new factor: Increased wind shear aloft. This could cause more storms in Tuesday's daytime heating to become severe, with localized high wind downbursts the main threat. An isolated tornado is also possible in this highly steamy tropical environment, with the potential for shearing winds aloft (moving in different directions, potentially causing rotations) and low cloud bases. This wet pattern could begin to break by Wednesday. |
About this blog
Kevin Myatt works on the copy desk for The Roanoke Times and is its principal weather geek, writing a weekly weather column and advising the newsroom on weather topics. He helps guide students on a storm chasing trip to the central U.S. each May and was an editor for "Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States." .....Advertisement.....
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