Cardinal News’ Southwest and Southside Virginia territory has diverse geography and weather. You can help us chronicle that, as many regional residents did with last week’s changeable weather.
The structure of a supercell thunderstorm is seen distinctly moving over Cumberland County on Sunday, March 31. This rotating thunderstorm tracked from Rockbridge County southeastward, dropping hail along much of its route. Courtesy of Mark Skaggs.
It’s far from true that Virginia is the only state where one can experience four seasons in a day, but we certainly started April with three seasons in a week.
Last week brought April weather in all its flavors to Southwest and Southside Virginia. Warm and cold. Calm and windy, Rainy and sunny. Supercell thunderstorms and snow squalls.
Taking a week away from writing a regular Cardinal Weather column, I’ll let photographs — a few by me, but mostly from others — around our beautiful region tell the tale of last week’s weather.
The rotation of a supercell thunderstorm over Nelson County on Sunday, March 31, is evident even in a still photograph. Courtesy of Chris Manley.
You, as a Cardinal News reader, can help us tell the story of our region’s dynamic weather simply by pointing a smartphone or camera to the environment around you and sending me the photos, either by email (weather@cardinalnews.org) or via social media (@KevinMyattWx on X/formerly Twitter, Kevin Myatt’s Weather Wonders page on Facebook).
A good weather photo doesn’t have to be something dramatic or traumatic, like wildfires, flooding, wind damage, thunderstorms or tornadoes — though it certainly can be. We’re always looking for photos that tell the news of an ongoing or recent weather event. But a good weather photo can also be a pretty sunrise, sunset or rainbow, an interesting cloud, or just a lovely landscape with blue skies, sunshine or fluffy clouds.
Rain streaks pour from thunderstorms near Daleville over southern Botetourt County on Monday, April 1. Courtesy of Chris White.
Also, if you haven’t already, you can subscribe to the Cardinal Weather newsletter, which comes to your inbox every Wednesday evening with a link to the most recent Cardinal Weather column (sometimes a second weather-related article) and a “Photo of the Week” chosen from submissions received.
Thank you for your continuing support of Cardinal News and the Cardinal Weather newsletter and weekly column.
Journalist Kevin Myatt has been writing about weather for 20 years. His weekly column, appearing on Wednesdays, is sponsored by Oakey’s, a family-run, locally owned funeral home with locations throughout the Roanoke Valley.
Morning sunshine burns through a thin layer of cirrus clouds high overhead at Blacksburg on Tuesday, April 2. Photo by Kevin Myatt.
Sun peeks over morning cumulus clouds in southwest Roanoke County on Wednesday, April 3. Courtesy of Christine Saunders.Thin streaks of virga — moisture precipitation evaporating aloft — are visible beneath the clouds over Salem on Wednesday, April 3. Courtesy of Daniel Argabright.As morning rain clears out, departing clouds are still giving out precipitation not reaching the ground — visible dark streaks of virga — over southwest Roanoke County on Wednesday, April 3. Photo by Kevin Myatt.A rainbow splits sunset pink clouds over Forest, Virginia, just west of Lynchburg in eastern Bedford County on Wednesday, April 3. Courtesy of Keith Huffman.The setting sun paints the western sky orange over Forest, Virginia, on Wednesday, April 3. Courtesy of Keith Huffman.Spring snow greets hikers at Pandapas Pond, west of Blacksburg, on Thursday, April 4. Courtesy of Jake Wissell.
White particles in the air are not bloom petals from spring trees — they are snowflakes, on Thursday, April 4, in Highland County. Courtesy of Rain Hupman.Looking something like a small thunderstorm, convective snow squalls blow over the mountains west of Salem on Thursday, April 4. Courtesy of Daniel Argabright.Snow covered higher parts of Whitetop Mountain fairly deeply on Thursday, April 4. Courtesy of Billy Bowling.Snowy ridges and streaks of snow showers as seen on Thursday, April 4, from the top of Virginia’s second highest mountain (5,525-foot Whitetop Mountain), at the Grayson-Smyth county border. Courtesy of Billy Bowling.Snow paints the landscape on Friday morning, April 5, at Monterey in Highland County. Courtesy of Rain Hupman.
