WDBJ7 Weather Blog

In-depth weather analysis from Chief Meteorologist Brent watts

[brentwatts]

This is where we would put the post text and hopefully it shows up on social medial.

[brentwatts]

Colorful snow map = insane weather week ahead. Hope you're along for the ride.

[brentwatts]

December 2015 warmest on record for Roanoke

It probably comes as no surprise, but December made the record books as the warmest December in recorded history. What’s even more surprising, is it knocked it out of the park by more than 2º.

Despite having the 3rd coldest February on record, overall the year as a whole was much warmer than average. 2015 will also make it in the Top 10 warmest years, ranking as the 9th warmest for Roanoke. 

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Roanoke ends 2015 with rainfall a foot above normal

2015 will likely make the list as the Top 5 Wettest in recorded history at the Roanoke climate reporting station.  Roanoke averages around 41″ of rain per year

This year, more than 54″ fell this year, with much of it coming during early fall with heavy rain and flooding. June was also a very wet month when 9″ of rain fell in Roanoke.

[brentwatts]

MODELS SEE CHRISTMAS DAY WARM OR WINTRY

A lot of folks have been asking about a first guess at what the Christmas forecast will be, which as of this post, is still 11 days away. This far out, there's no guess, especially since the long-range models have totally different ideas as the what may happen. Remember these are not forecasts, just model guidance.

European Model: The Euro suggests a slim chance of a white Christmas this year in southwest Virginia. In fact, it's looking like an extremely mild day with highs approaching 60º+. (NOT A FORECAST) That's great for trying out those new bikes, hover boards and drones, right?

GFS: The American model has a large low across the northeast pushing through a cold front with colder air on the back edge. This scenario would bring rain into the area, and finish it up as some snow in the mountains. (NOT A FORECAST)

Based on other models and our warm pattern, my first "guess" is warmer over wintry will win out this year. Keep checking the First Alert Weather Appbit.ly/fadownload as we update the forecast for the Christmas holiday travel week.

[panajan]

O.O

[npr]

Weekend vibes. -Ariel

[brentwatts]

This little reminder to eat your carrots!

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Aurora photos from around the world

https://storify.com/wattsupbrent/march-17-aurora

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FEB 26 Snow time lapse through 3am (until the battery died). Ground temps were much warmer with this storm so more melting at the start.

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View this post on Instagram

Cold but no storm OR Storm but no cold. Seems to be the theme this winter.

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I've seen videos like this before but this is a newer version that looks like it was taken from a GoPro.

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Here's hoping we never see this much snow so I have to do this to my roof.

VIEW VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152825078443509

[brentwatts]

Jimmy the Groundhog bit the mayor after apparently a disagreement over the forecast. 

I literally laughed out loud when I saw this.  It happened in Wisconsin at the Sun Prairie Groundhog Day celebration. 

I totally get that Groundhog Day is for fun and it's a tradition. But who wants to be pulled out of their warm bed and be squeezed while thousands of people are watching you.

Not to mention, the groundhogs never even get a chance to see their shadow. The shadow (or no shadow) is likely predetermined well in advance by the handlers. Heck the sun isn't even up in some of the places that do the ceremonies early in the morning.

Let the rodents be warm in their cage, and lets start another tradition. 

[brentwatts]

The Seitz family from Roanoke visited Gobbler's Knob this weekend. Hoping they talked some sense into that famous groundhog.

[brentwatts]

A night of #SuperBowl multi-tasking. Research, sleep, Pinterest and homework.

[accuweather]

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Well, these are awesome. GIF animations created from original storm photos by Mike Hollingshead.

[brentwatts]

Nothing worse than a Toucan interrupting your traffic camera.

[brentwatts]

"Frost heaving" sounds disgusting but it's actually atmospherically artistic.  

You may have seen something like this while you were hiking on a cold day, just as Ashley did in the photo above posted on Twitter. 

FROST HEAVING

Frost heaving is an upwards swelling of soil caused by an increasing presence of ice. The ice grows towards the surface, upwards from the depth in the soil where freezing temperatures have penetrated into the soil.

For frost heaving to occur, three basic conditions must be satisfied: the soil must be frost-susceptible; water must be available in sufficient quantities; and cooling conditions must cause soil and water to freeze. If one of these conditions can be eliminated, frost heaving will not occur.

In the woods this rarely causes any problems, but when it occurs under roads and buildings, you can have major issues. Things like potholes, cracked roads, or uneven ground.

The severe cases typically happen across the northeast, where temperatures remain below freezing for very long periods of time.