Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 27, 1995 TAG: 9506270047
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It also looks like we're going to be stuck with this same damp, murky weather for at least the rest of the week.
How come?
Blame a huge, but slow-moving weather system called an "upper low," a mass of low pressure about 20,000 feet up in the upper atmosphere. Last week, one of these cyclone-shaped weather patterns moved across the country, sucking moist, tropical air out of the Caribbean, and wringing out the rain over the East Coast.
That upper low is gone, but now there's another one - this one so big it stretches from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic coast. It's the meteorological equivalent of turning on a fan and pulling in every raincloud this side of the Gulf of Mexico.
So keep your umbrella handy. "I'm not going to say we're going to dry out anytime soon," says National Weather Service forecaster Jeff Stewart in Blacksburg.
FORECAST
Today: Hail, damaging winds and flash floods may hit parts of Western Virginia.
Wednesday: Some sunshine in the morning, when a current of drier air blows through. But more rain Wednesday night.
Thursday-Saturday: More rain each day.
Source: National Weather Service
RAIN GO AWAY?
Is June's wet weather good or bad? That depends on what you're trying to do.
GARDENS
So far, the wet weather's been good news for most gardeners. "They fuss a whole lot more when it's dry," says David Wright of Agnew Seed in Roanoke. But if there's much more rain, rose-growers may have to fear the dreaded black spot and other damp-weather diseases.
HAY-MAKING
Most farmers have already finished their first cutting of hay, so the recent rains are good news for them, too. "This'll make that second cutting as good as we've seen in a long time," predicts Reggie Reynolds of the Virginia Cattlemen's Association in Botetourt County.
LAWNS
The weather's been bad news for lawn-mowers, be it kids trying to earn a buck or commercial landscaping services. "Even my yard, it's up to my ankles now," says David Myers of Ed Myers Landscape Maintenance in Roanoke.
Many days, yards are too damp to mow. Other days, unpredictable thunderstorms threaten to blow up. "Then, as soon as you pack up for the day, it dries up and everybody in the crew is gone," Myers says. "That makes it frustrating."
After the flooding comes the pestilence: Damp yards are a breeding-ground for grass diseases. You can try fungicides, or just let nature - and dry weather - take its course, advises Frank Wade of Lawn Doctor.
Two other tips:
1. Cut your grass as high as possible; the shorter you mow, the more chance of shocking the roots.
2. Use a sharp blade; a dull blade damages the grass.
ROOFS
When it rains, it pours for roofing companies. Many say their business has doubled in the past week. "We get calls everytime it rains, but when we have a torrential rain like recently, we get bombarded, because that kind of rain magnifies the problems," says Betty Allard of Richard's Guttering and Siding Co. in Roanoke.
So far this week, "the phone won't quit ringing," she says. "I can't get anything done but answer the phones. But we're not complaining. Now, if it would stop raining long enough to get the work done, that would be nice."
HAY-MAKING
Most farmers have already finished their first cutting of hay, so the recent rains are good news to them, too. "This'll make that second cutting as good as we've seen in a long time," predicts Reggie Reynolds of the Virginia Cattleman's Association in Botetourt County.
by CNB