Happy Monday and welcome to another edition of the Beyond The Forecast!
We’ve had quite a few warm and muggy nights this summer in Southwest and Central Virginia. The average low temperature since June 1 is 66.3° in Roanoke.
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That ranks sixth in the record books to this point in summer. 2010 had the warmest average low temperature at 67.7°.
Blacksburg, Lynchburg and Danville come in at 18th, 26th and 52nd, respectively.
Part of the reason Roanoke is higher on the list? The urban heat island, which tends to keep temperatures up overnight during the summer months.
The biggest difference in temperatures between urban and rural locations is felt in the three to five hours after sunset.
Summer nights have been getting warmer over time, according to Climate Central.
They crunched the numbers and found that Roanoke’s average low temperature during the summer has risen by 4.5° since 1970.
The warming trend could continue into the future with the effects of climate change.
The warm nights don’t let up this week as our low-temperature forecast is above average the next five nights. We’ll be running between 70 and 73 for the morning low each day.
Switching gears to your forecast, we’re settling into a more active weather pattern in Southwest and Central Virginia. Meteorologist Chris Michaels breaks down the daily storm chances in our forecast article.
You can always get specific forecast details for your zone, whether it’s the Roanoke Valley, Southside, the Highlands or elsewhere around Southwest and Central Virginia, anytime at WSLS.com/weather. Know your zone!
In case you missed it, we’re posting great weather and science content on WSLS.com. Here are a few links from the past week to check out:
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-- Justin McKee