'Chaotic mix' prompts winter weather advisoryPosted Feb25, 2007 at 07:42 AMI awoke to find a white ground from a light, slushy sleet accumulation here in south Roanoke County, though air temperatures are hovering a little above freezing. The sleet fell hard enough and the ground and exposed objects cooled enough to accomodate some accumulation. Streets are just wet here at this time, but that may be different where you are. In a morning forecast discussion, the National Weather Service in Blacksburg described the precipitation as "a chaotic mix of rain ... sleet ... freezing rain and snow falling across the forecast area this morning." The mix changed the wording of the advisory for the Roanoke and New River valleys from "freezing rain advisory" to "winter weather advisory." The next few hours are crucial to whether this will end up being an oddball winter storm or just a cold rain in the Roanoke Valley. Temperatures are in the mid 30s, but dew points are still in the upper 20s, which means there is some room for the temperatures to drop a bit with evaporational cooling. It's already 32 at Blacksburg, but 34 at nearby Dublin. As with the Feb. 13 winter storm this may well be a situation where conditions are different within a few miles, with one area getting ice while someone a few miles away stays a little above freezing. It's likely most of the precipitation will change to rain or freezing rain later this morning. The margin is thin between an ice storm and a cold rain. Latest winter weather information from the National Weather Service |
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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