Kevin Myatt

The Category 1 hurricane’s fingerprints were on the deadly and destructive flooding 40 years ago this week, but the atmospheric setup that yielded the worst river flooding on record at Roanoke and Lynchburg was much more complicated.

Before this week’s sogginess, October 2025 was challenging last October and that of 2000 for lack of rainfall.

We’ve seen ice crystals forming on patches of grass and perhaps some blowing through the air on ridgetops — and there may be more of both, soon.

Tropical systems have not been hitting the U.S. or moving inland toward Southwest and Southside Virginia, but high waves have been eating up Outer Banks houses.

Variable amounts of rainfall have led to widely varying visual conditions for fall foliage in higher elevations that are turning first.

Factors that could have pulled Imelda inland for at least a partial sequel of Helene did not materialize this week, thankfully.

A year ago this week, a powerful hurricane being absorbed into a stubborn upper-level low-pressure system led to a catastrophic regional weather event in the Appalachians.

A coastal storm failed to deliver more than sprinkly rain over most of Southwest and Southside Virginia this week.

Unseasonably cool low temperatures for early September are a signal to wrap up the summer contest.

It was the coolest August on record at Danville and among a few chillier Augusts in many decades of records at several other Virginia locations.