Kevin Myatt's Weather Wonders

06/18/2026

A few changes for Southwest/Southside Virginia weather from yesterday's thinking:

(1) Severe thunderstorm watch has been issued until noon on this Thursday for much of the western half of Virginia. A line of storms originating from the Ohio Valley has kept momentum overnight. It is expected to weaken crossing the mountains but may still have enough gusto for some stronger gusts in spots.

(2) Afternoon/evening thunderstorms, some strong to severe, still expected to develop. May be hampered in some areas somewhat by whatever clouds/cooling morning squall line leaves behind, but temperatures expected to recover enough for afternoon instability.

(3) Tropical system that briefly became Tropical Storm Arthur near the Texas Gulf Coast may inject just enough moisture northward overnight/early Friday for fairly widespread rain showers with passing cold front. Speed of passing system will preclude large soaking rain but perhaps some locations getting 1/2-3/4 inch type rain, better chances of that to the south of Roanoke than to the north.

(4) Still a dry warm to hot weekend (80s-lower 90s highs) before another chance of showers and storms early next week.

06/17/2026

Another risk of severe thunderstorms develops for most of Virginia on Thursday as a cold front presses into hot and somewhat humid air after the cooler, less humid days we've had to start this week. This very likely will not be a widespread rain and another case of a few spots getting fierce storms while other spots have sprinkles or less. But the strongest storms or storm clusters may have locally damaging winds, again.

This front and the upper-level trough pushing it are going to arrive just in time to suppress a tropical low now near the Texas Gulf Coast to our south. Drought-easing but locally flooding rains are expected across much of the South on Thursday and Friday with this system that may or may not briefly attain tropical depression/named tropical storm status. The consolation prize for those wanting a good rain may be another showery period on Monday with a low-pressure system moving in from the central U.S. The weekend looks warm to hot (80s to 90ish) and mostly sunny.

06/14/2026

Another chance of strong to severe storms on Sunday afternoon and evening for Southwest and Southside Virginia. Like Friday, these storms will be fierce in some spots and totally skip others not far away. The worst ones may contain damaging winds, hail, and torrential rainfall; even modest storms can produce dangerous lightning. Be weather-aware and ready to move off of the water and/or into solid structures if storms approach your location on Sunday. ... Cooler, drier weather settles in for early to middle part of coming week, near-normal 70s-80s highs and 50s-lower 60s lows across much of our region.

The chance of severe thunderstorms with strong or damaging winds has increased for much of the area on Sunday. Stay alert and have multiple methods to receive warnings!

06/13/2026

Tragic weather event in Bedford County on this Friday evening. 1 dead, 22 injured when church tent collapsed during gusty thunderstorm winds.

There were numerous reports of downed trees. More than 5,000 utility customers in Bedford County, Franklin County, Roanoke County, Roanoke city and Botetourt County lost power in the storms.

06/11/2026

Most locations in Southwest/Southside Virginia probably won't get a storm today (Thursday) or Friday, but for those who do, it might get a little testy. Hot both days, lots of 90s highs in the Roanoke Valley and east of the Blue Ridge. ... Just a touch cooler (mostly 80s highs) with intermittent periods showers and storms headed into next week.

In first comment: This week's weather column in Cardinal News on the state of the ongoing long-term drought.

Isolated thunderstorms this afternoon and evening may contain damaging wind gusts and marginally severe hail. Strong to severe thunderstorms are expected again Friday afternoon and evening. Please visit https://www.weather.gov/rnk/emer for more details.

06/09/2026

Southwest Virginia west of Interstate 77 will have the best chance of heavier rainfall over the next couple of days as front stalls and washes out near or just west of our Southwest and Southside Virginia region on this Tuesday and Wednesday, with more scattered and generally lighter showers and storms farther east. Some localized flooding (yes even in drought) and a few severe storms are possible, perhaps more so on Wednesday with less preceding cloud cover allowing more heating. The late week period likes quite hot -- some mid-upper 90s in the Roanoke Valley and east of the Blue Ridge -- but also moist enough for sporadic afternoon thunderstorms. Looking ahead, an alternating pattern between showery and hotter/drier looks likely, with neither prolonged extreme heat nor much-needed long soaking rainfall expected.

06/04/2026

Starting to get into summer simplicity with weather in Southwest/Southside Virginia. Sunny and hotter next couple of days with some lower 90s highs in the Roanoke Valley and east of the Blue Ridge. Cold front approaches kicking up some scattered showers and storms Sunday and Monday. Then dry again early to mid next week with somewhat cooler temperatures, 70s-lower 80s highs and 50s-lower 60s lows.

Link to Cardinal Weather heat prediction contest below. Also, in first comment, how up-and-down temperatures this spring have led to a large amount of crop damage in Virginia.

A hot summer might not have extremely hot days, while a cool summer might have a couple of them. This contest is about guessing the peak heat at three locations in Cardinal News’ coverage area.

06/02/2026

Some showers and storms possible mostly west of the Blue Ridge on this Tuesday afternoon and early evening as cooler air is reinforced from north amid some afternon heating. Rest of week looks dry, cool mornings and warm afternoons Wednesday and Thursday heating back up to 80s-lower 90s highs by weekend. Next significant chance of showers arrives early next week.

05/28/2026

We're headed into a much drier period for the next several days, and ultimately, a relatively cool one for early June, with lots of 60s-70s highs and 40s-50s lows over the weekend and into next week across Southwest/Southside Virginia. Weather across the U.S. will be influenced by an "omega block" pattern next week, with a warm high pressure system in the middle and cooler south-diving loops of the jet stream both east and west of that high. This kind of pattern only slowly breaks down. It should be a pleasant period for doing things outside.

Could the cooler weather to start "meteorological summer" be a harbinger of what summer as a whole might bring? With a likely intensifying El Nino, previous summers with similar progressions in the influential equatorial Pacific sea temperature cycle have shown a marked tendency to be among the cooler ones in our region on average. We explore that in this week's Cardinal News weather column linked below.

Past summers show that a developing El Niño could be a factor in at least somewhat suppressing this summer’s heat.

05/27/2026

One more day of the showery pattern, with a few stronger storms possible, for Southwest/Southside Virginia, before a cold front shoves the wetter weather farther south. Then, we dry out for several days, including the weekend. The trend over the next 7-10 days will be for cooler than normal temperatures, as an "omega block" pattern brings a stout hot high pressure system over the central U.S. but deep southerly dips in the jet stream loop down on either side near the West and East coasts, bringing cool Canadian air farther south. So long as the flow over our region is from the north and northwest, further rain chances will be limited, but we also won't see much 80s-lower 90s heat, Thursday possibly being the hottest day for a week or more with some lower 80s highs. Nighttime lows in the 40s and 50s will be common by the weekend into early next week. We had some April that felt like June, now we'll start June with days that feel more like April.

Showers will once again be across the area this morning, tapering off midday before more showers/storms develop this afternoon. Storms could be severe, capable of producing isolated damaging wind gusts. The best chance for severe storms will be north of Lynchburg along the I-64 corridor where a Slight Risk is issued due to large hail also being a possibility there. In addition, A Marginal Risk for Excessive Rainfall remains across the entire area, with a Slight Risk for Western Greenbrier County in WV as localized flash flooding remains possible.