An August for the Record Books

There's no surprise August was an extremely hot month. But would you believe over 56 records were set this month? That's an astounding number of broken records. In fact, so odd, the National Weather Service office in Blacksburg compiled and released a list of August heat facts. Here's a summary.

+August 2007 will be the hottest on record for Roanoke, Blacksburg, Danville & Bluefield

+Over 56 records have been set for both high maximum and high minimum temperatures combined. (High minimum is considered the warmest low temperature for that date).

+There were numerous days 90+ degrees. Here's the breakdown by city: ROANOKE: 23 days
LYNCHBUG: 16 days
BLACKSBURG: 11 days
DANVILLE: 24 days

Total Lunar Eclipse

As the moon passed through the earth's shadow early this morning, few locally were able to see it. Clouds obstructed the view of the year's second Total Lunar Eclipse. For those that didn't get to see it, here's a look at the total eclipse that took place March 3rd of this year.



Aside from the clouds, a couple things got in the way of making this a spectacular viewing. The eclipse took place a bit too close to moonset OR sunrise (however you look at it). So, by the time the moon became totally immersed in the moon's shadow, the morning twilight interfered with its visibility. Also, the moon blended in with the clouds and haze we had in the atmosphere.

If you weren't able to see it this time, perhaps try next year. The next Total Lunar Eclipse will be February 20, 2008.

Meteorologist Brent Watts

Gustnado vs Tornado

Tuesday's severe storms that rolled through parts of the region created swirls of debris that appeared to resemble a tornado. Several folks reported seeing a funnel cloud. However, many weather features can create a tornado-like swirl. One of those is the gustnado.
A gustnado is a short-lived swirl of wind (whirlwind) that develops on a thunderstorm outflow boundary called a gust front.


Gustnados develop from the ground up as winds interact with land and begin to swirl, picking up dust and debris. The result is similar to a small tornado. However, if you're brave enough to look closely, you'll see the gustnado is not attached to the cumulonimbus cloud or related to the storms rotation, unlike its cousin the tornado.

It CAN produce damage due to its straight-line winds that can reach over 70mph. Gustnado damage is typically limited to small trees, windows and tossing around of loose objects, but can be worse in a very strong storm.

Thankfully, we're not accustomed to seeing these acts of nature in these parts very often. So, being able to differentiate between the two while finding shelter is fairly difficult. Regardless of the culprit, wind damage was reported and the daily plans were disrupted for a short period of time. Had this been a strong tornado, this may be a different story.

Send your weather questions to: bwatts@wdbj7.com

--Meteorologist Brent Watts

Space Station and Shuttle

Mark Hodges from the Science Museum of Western Virginia sent us this cool photo of the International Space Station and Shuttle Endeavor.

In his email he writes: "I shot this this evening at 9:30pm from the 5th floor parking deck at Center in the Square passing over the Hometown Bank building. The Space Station is first with the shuttle just passing over the top of the building."

This photo was time-lapsed and is very good considering the amount of ambient light in Downtown Roanoke at night.

The image was taken just in time, as Endeavor will be returning to earth this afternoon, a day earlier than expected. Staff at mission control in Houston was concerned that Hurricane Dean might impact the weather there, causing communication issued between the shuttle and ground staff.

Today's landing of endeavor will take place around noon in Florida. Endeavour's first landing path would take the crew over the Pacific Ocean, Central America and Cuba before touching down at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

If bad weather forces NASA to scrub that landing attempt, the shuttle's second opportunity would include flying over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, which was battered Tuesday morning by Hurricane Dean. If the shuttle crosses above the hurricane, it will be too high to feel its effects, according to NASA.

Pretty interesting. As always, thanks for the photo Mark.

--Brent

Mean Dean Gets Meaner

It was a phrase I jokingly used on the air last week. "Mean Dean." At the time, Dean was merely a cluster of storms that had reached tropical storm status. We had already seen three of those this season with little major impact. Dean however is certainly different.

As of this blog entry, Hurricane Dean, a Category 4 with winds topping 150mph, has already devistated parts of the Caribbean Islands, completely wiping out precious banana crops in St. Lucia and Martinique.

The dangerous hurricane is being guided by a low pressure system that was over southern Florida. That low has now taken a westerly move and will be replaced by a ridge of high pressure over the east. This should keep Dean on a southerly route through the Yucatan, and into the southern Gulf of Mexico. Most of the models have the northern Gulf "in the clear." This spaghetti plot (below) that meteorologists look at as forecast guidance, takes all the various computer model runs and compares the forecast track. The one on the left shows most of the models are now coming together on a southern Gulf route to Dean, which takes him either into southern Texas or northern Mexico.

As a result of a possible Texas landfall. NASA has decided to bring the space shuttle home early for fear mission control in Houston could be disrupted. The photo on the right was taken from the shuttle. It shows Hurricane Dean with the Space station in the foreground.

With several thousand oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, even without a US landfall, we will likely feel the impact in a gas price increase. A simple trade-off for being spared so much devistation. We'll continue to monitor Dean. You can too in our Hurricane Center section. You can find it by returning to the main weather page and click on the hurricane center icon.

So long for now! --Brent

Heat, Humidity and Water Woes

"It's not the heat, but the humidity." We hear it all the time. But we are living that phrase this week. Last week, air temperatures reached 100 and dew points (measure of amount of moisture in the air) were extremely high (60s & 70s), which made it feel like a sauna each time you stepped outdoors.

This heat wave is different in that our moisture source is cut-off, so our air is very dry, almost like the desert. At one point Wednesday, the dew point was 49 and the relative humidity was 27%. That's almost as dry as Death Valley.

We're in desperate need of rain. Roanoke Regional Airport has a deficit of -7.98" for 2007. In the middle of a moderate drought, Danville is even worse, down -8.15" for the year. It's not unusual that summer is dry, with mainly scattered storms being the main source of precipitation. We typically see a return of wetter weather in the fall as the tropics get active and also when the jet stream returns a bit farther south. One could only hope we can make up for some of the lack of rain as we did at the end of 2006.

Below is the temperature and precipitation outlooks for September-November, based on climate and current models. This data comes from NOAA and the National Weather Service.

THE TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK FOR SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2007 CALLS FOR ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES OVER MOST OF THE UNITED STATES. THE CHANCES OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE SOMEWHAT HIGHER THAN NORMAL FOR THE SOUTHWEST DUE LARGELY TO THE LONG-TERM TRENDS AND ONGOING DROUGHT CONDITIONS.

ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED ALONG THE GULF AND ATLANTIC COASTS PARTLY DUE TO AN EXPECTED ACTIVE TROPICAL ATLANTIC STORM SEASON AND ALSO DUE TO THE LONG-TERM TRENDS.

What does this all mean? Conserve water, drink water, and pray for water. --Brent

Waterspout Photos

Our weather intern David Wolters just came back from a Florida vacation. Aside from the vacation stories of wild parties, surf and sand (OK, at least 2 out of 3), he shared some of the coolest photos he took while there.

Florida is known for its abundance of storms. Over land they can produce tornadoes. But over water, those same formations are called waterspouts. Here are some of the photos he took. He would estimate the spout was about 10 miles from land. Luckily, it stayed there. Thanks for the photos. --Brent

Supercell Storms

We've certainly had our share of stormy weather over the past several weeks. A fellow employee (thanks Debra) sent me this video of a supercell storm time lapse from Oklahoma.

You might define a supercell as a thunderstorm with a deep rotating updraft (mesocyclone). In fact, the major difference between supercell and multicell storms is the element of rotation in supercells. As you will see in the video below, these storms do have quite the rotation, and if conditions are right, can produce tornadoes.

Learn more about supercells here...after watching the video :) --Brent

Hey There Dalila!

We're not talking about the new Plain White Tee's song with a similar name. It's actually the newest tropical storm in the Pacific. That means they are two up on us.

Tropical storm Dalila formed in the Pacific Ocean near Mexico on Monday and was expected to head up the coast over the next few days but not make landfall.

"It cannot be ruled out that Dalila could become a hurricane," the hurricane center said on its Web site. "However ... the storm has work to do to overcome its internal disorganization."

A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph.

Mexico's Pacific coast was blitzed with hurricanes and storms last year but has not been hit so far in 2007.

We're still waiting in the Atlantic hurricane basin. Our next named storm will be Chantal.

Million Dollar Ice?

On these hot days, most people would pay good money for some crispy, cold ice. However, it seems FEMA can't give the cold stuff away.

After 2005's Hurricane Katrina, thousands of pounds of ice were made for victim relief efforts. However, thanks to faulty estimates by local officials, way too much ice was made. The ice, held at AmeriCold Logistics in Gloucester, MA and at 22 similar facilities nationwide, is costing the government (you/me) $12.5 million dollars to store the ice since Katrina. Yep, that's right...million dollar ice. Not to mention, truckers were paid $900 per day to haul the ice from the Gulf states, all the way to New England. I'm no genious, but aside from the Boston Tea Party, I can't remember the last disaster to hit Massachusetts. Why was it shipped there?

Anyway, FEMA contracts required disposal of the ice three months after purchase, but decided to keep the excess ice for the predicted 2006 hurricane season. With fewer storms than expected, the ice was not needed, and the agency decided not to save it for the 2007 season.

Now, it appears FEMA can't even give the million dollar ice away. So it will be melted. Yep, perfectly good ice going down the drain. What a waste of tax dollars. Couldn't this ice be used for something?

Be creative and post some ideas by clicking on the comments link below. I'll add the first one. --Brent

Sacred Icicle Melting

From vanishing lakes to killing the coral reefs, many of the earth's changes are being blamed on global warming. Have you heard the story about a sacred icicle melting in a Himalayan cave?

Thousands of Hindu pilgrims are facing disappointment after a large, sacred icicle in the Himalayas melted down to harldy nothing. (see photo left, before and after). Many Hindus consider the melting as a bad omen.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of devotees make a long trek to the mountains to look at the natural icy formation, worshipped as a symbol of the god of destruction, Shiva. But could the popularity of the ice feature actually be the cause of its annihilation, instead of global warming? The more people that go in, the more warm air they exhale and the warmer the cave becomes.

Get this. Last year, pilgrims were outraged when authorities reportedly used snow to create a fake icicle when the natural ice formation failed to appear. That's pretty low.

For those who are still a bit divided on whether global warming is human induced, visit this site for another angle. It's titled-Global Warming: A chilling perspective.

Hail of a Storm

This year, helmets weren't used for sudden crashes during the Tour of Switzerland. Instead they were for the protecting riders from thousands of hailstones that fell from the sky during the sixth leg of the race.

Severe storms pelted the cyclists with hail, heavy rain and even lightning. Check out rider Filippo Pozzato's (photo right) marks from nature's beating. Ouch! Click here for more photos from the stormy stretch.

Most of the hail during the race was slightly larger than dime size. But as you know, it can come in all shapes and sizes. What's the biggest hailstone ever documented? Well, it is the Coffeyville, Kansas hailstone that fell in 1970.
The hail stone was 1.67 pounds and over 5.5 inches in diameter. The photo (Left) shows the onion-like circles. These layers show how many times the hailstone was pushed back into the storm by an updraft for another coating of ice. While it's difficult to see on smaller stones, you can count the rings to get an indication of the hailstone's history.

DEEPEST HAIL EVENT:
A severe hailstorm on June 3, 1959, at Selden, in northwestern Kansas, left an area measuring 9 by 6 miles (14.4 by 10 km) covered with hailstones to a depth of 18 inches (about 46 cm). The hail fell for 85 minutes and did $500,000 worth of damage, mainly to crops.

HAIL DEATHS:
Hail deaths are rare in the United States. The last known U.S. hail fatality was an infant killed in Fort Collins, Colo., in August 1979.

Learn more about hail formation here.

--Brent

Lightning Kills Florida Man

The following story was in the Miami Herald last week. A good reminder during Lightning Awareness Week. Stay safe out there. -------Robin

By TERE FIGUERAS NEGRETE AND LUISA YANEZ

With no rain or even clouds to warn him of the danger, death came literally out of the blue Thursday to a self-employed landscaper. The killer was a powerful bolt of lightning that cracked through perfectly clear skies. David Canales, 41, of West Miami-Dade, was on the job at a Pinecrest home when the bolt hit. It first seared a tree, then traveled and struck Canales, standing nearby. Experts said Canales was killed by a weather phenomenon fittingly called a ''bolt from the blue'' or ''dry lightning'' because it falls from clear, blue skies. He was pronounced dead at South Miami Hospital. Canales is the latest victim of one of Florida's least enviable honors: It's the country's lightning capital. Five of the 47 people killed by lightning across the country last year were in Florida. Dan Dixon, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, said that when Canales was hit, a typical afternoon storm was forming but nowhere near the area. Weather data showed that lightning activity picked up north of Pinecrest shortly before 1 p.m., as a storm gathered momentum and swept through Coral Gables and then downtown. ''Most lightning will come from the base of a thunderstorm, inside that rain-shaft area,'' Dixon explained. ``But occasionally, what we call a bolt from the blue comes out of a thunderstorm still several miles away.'' The fair-weather bolts pack a bigger, deadlier punch and form differently. Most lightning bolts carry a negative charge, but ''bolts from the blue'' have a positive charge, carry as much as 10 times the current, are hotter and last longer. The bolts normally travel horizontally away from the storm and reach farther than typical lightning, then curve to the ground. This bolt struck the front yard of a home at 10500 SW 62nd Ave. ''My wife said the sky was blue, but the lightning bolt was the most horrible sound she had heard in her life,'' said Clemente Vazquez-Bello, owner of the home where Canales and two workers had come to do landscaping. Startled by the violent sound, Margarita Vazquez-Bello ran to the backyard. The men were not there. Canales' workers were knocking on the front door, seeking help. She dialed 911. Officers with the Village of Pinecrest and Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue arrived at the home. But Canales was in grave condition when transported, said rescue spokesman Lt. Elkin Sierra. The Vazquez-Bellos rushed to South Miami Hospital, where Canales was pronounced dead. Canales' wife, also at the hospital, could not be reached for comment. Vazquez-Bello said Canales was ''a wonderful human being'' and a dependable hard worker. ''We feel terrible about this,'' said Vazquez-Bello, a Miami attorney. Dixon said protecting yourself from such unexpected lightning is difficult. ''They are very unpredictable and very dangerous. We urge people to stay indoors even if you hear thunder only faintly in the distance,'' Dixon said. ``If you're close enough to hear thunder, you're close enough to be struck by lightning.'' Earlier this month, a worker was hospitalized after being struck at a construction site in Miami. Nine people, including three children, were forced out of their Plantation home after a lightning strike caused a fire. There has been at least one fatality in South Florida this year: A person on a roof in Miramar was killed by lightning May 19, Dixon said. It's not the first time in South Florida ''bolts from the blue'' have proven deadly. In August 1988, a Norwegian couple vacationing in South Florida were struck while standing on a Fort Lauderdale beach. Witnesses said the sky was cloudless.
Miami Herald staff writer Penny McCrea and researcher Monika Z. Leal contributed to this report.

ZZZZs Among The Trees

Camping outside can be both fun and educational, especially when the weather is right. This Saturday night nature lovers and the like will be hitting the backyards and campgrounds for the Great American Backyard Campout, sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation. It's a one-night event for families, youth and individuals urging folks to camp out in their backyards or local parks and to discover the fun of being in the great outdoors.



Here's a few reminders as you pack your gear:
+Remember to check the radar and forecast before you leave
+Take along a NOAA Weather Radio to keep you informed while outdoors
+Always travel in groups if you will be traveling in unfamiliar areas.
+Leave the wilderness the same, or better than you found it.

A Few Unheard of Tips:
+While the Swiss Army Knife has been popular for years, the Swiss Navy Knife has remained largely unheard of. Its single blade functions as a tiny canoe paddle.

+A potato baked in the campfire coals for one hour makes an excellent side dish. A potato baked in the coals for three hours makes an excellent hockey puck.

+And last, but most importantly, in emergency situations, you can survive in the wilderness by shooting small game with a slingshot made from the elastic waistband of your underwear.

Seriously, I hope you are able to enjoy the great outdoors this weekend. Even if you can't campout, perhaps take a hike to see all that our great environment has to offer.



Happy Camping! --Brent

Breathe A Little Easier

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) monitors levels of ozone and particle pollution from stations around Virginia. Both of these are pollutants, at high levels, may raise health concerns in some people, particularly those with breathing problems such as asthma.

The Roanoke Valley acts as a bowl to trap in tiny particles (soot, dust, smoke, and fumes, burning of coal, oil, diesel, and other fuels). The particles are small enough to enter deep into the lungs and cause health problems. When we get a hot, stagnant air mass with little wind, these particles can stick around for days and days. As the sun’s intensity reaches its maximum during the mid-afternoon, smog levels will peak, then fall rapidly in the evening when the sun goes down. Likewise, increasing winds and steady rain can "clean out" the particles.

What should you do?

• Monitor your local air quality reports (found on the Weather homepage under 'Weather and Health."


• When levels are high, stay inside if you can. Avoid strenuous outdoor activity.


• Avoid the use of any other gasoline engines, such as mowers and other lawn equipment, or boat motors


• Save power by turning off lights and appliances when they are not needed.


• Avoid burning yard debris or brush.

The DEQ will issue Ozone Action Days which mean the air quality will be especially poor. We will pass those bulletins along to you during routine weather segments.

Now you can breathe easier knowing we are thinking about your health.

Heat & Humidity Return

Summer begins this Thursday, June 21; but a summer regime is setting up a few days ahead of the calendar. Monday's highs are forecast around 87-94; which could be good enough to tie or break some local records. Roanoke and Blacksburg have the best chance of recording new record warmth on June 18th.

Remember to check on elderly friends and neighbors during the next few days as the area heats up. Drink plenty of water, and remember your pets! --Jay

Severe Thunderstorms

Have you noticed the cool clouds over our area recently? With the setting sun, the towering cumulus look spectacular. Almost like you were at the beach. In fact, the wind flow for the last week has been from the northeast. This is a little unusual. The atmosphere has been unstable enough to produce severe thunderstorms. Mainly due to large hail. ----- Chief Meteorologist Robin Reed

"When Thunder Roars - Go Indoors"

By now, you've likely heard of the 14-year-old Campbell County boy that was struck and killed by lightning over the weekend. While the teen and a friend were fishing, a storm approached their location. While running to a barn for protection, the boy was struck.

Remember, thunder is nature's warning sign. We often tell local elementary students, "If you're close enough to hear thunder, you're close enough to be struck by lightning." When faced with a storm, seek shelter. Apply the 30/30 rule. If you see lightning, and then hear thunder within 30 seconds, go inside for 30 minutes until the storm passes. Also, know that lightning can strike several miles away from the parent thunderstorm. We call this "A bolt from the blue." Lightning has been known to strike over 25 miles away from the storm it's coming from. In other words, if a storm is in Roanoke, a lightning bolt could hit a place like Smith Mountain Lake, Christiansburg, Fincastle or Rocky Mount.

June 24-30 marks "Lightning Safety Week". To learn more about lightning safety, return to the weather page on wdbj7.com --Jay

That Was Some Storm!

On Tuesday, June 5, 2007 the sky looked like that!
Beginning as a severe thunderstorm warning in Tazewell around 6pm, the hail and wind maker roared east-southeast at 45mph through the Virginia countryside dropping quarter size hail, heavy rain and wind gusts topping 40mph.

As it crossed Bland and Wythe counties, Gary White took this picture. On it marched through Pulaski, Floyd and Franklin. That's where it got really scary. The hail covered the ground causing the temperature to drop so quickly that dense fog formed and literally stopped the traffic on route 220. The next morning, News 7 covered the story of trees crushing houses, cars and power lines as they fell. Amazingly, no one was hurt. However, gardens were destroyed and traffic was slowed. We ran 20 crawls at the top of the screen over a 3 hour period alerting viewers to the type of storm that was rolling through. After the event, a viewer called to say she was never going to watch our station again. She heard the thunder and saw the hail and didn't need us to tell her there was a thunderstorm outside. Sometimes other TV stations do go overboard on their weather coverage. But I can assure you that SkyTracker 7 Weather will always alert you to severe weather events. And this storm was a doozie.

Chief Meteorologist Robin Reed

No Bites From Barry

Wouldn't you know it. Try to take the family on a short vacation and a tropical storm rides the coast. Go figure. The good news is, few are complaining. What could have been a nasty storm, was nothing but relief for farmers and firefighters throughout the south. Wildfires and droughts have been common for several months now and this rain couldn't have come at a better time.

The waves were a bit high today and some odd creatures have washed ashore. Other than that, it looked like an ordinary rainy day along the Grand Strand. Most folks I've talked with here agree, if the rest of the hurricane season is like this, bring it on. The sun should be back tomorrow, as will the beachgoers. Gotta hit the pillow so we can get a great space. Later.

--Brent