
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, August 13, 1995                   TAG: 9508160109
SECTION: DISCOVER ROANOKE VALLEY                    PAGE: 24   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ROANOKE VALLEY CLIMATE

The Roanoke Valley has four distinct seasons typical of a temperate climate. Winter extremes are tempered, however, by the location of the valley. The Alleghenies and the Blue Ridge Mountains provide a natural barrier to the cold northern winds resulting in a milder winter than in the surrounding mountainous areas.

The growing season in the area averages 190 days. The last freezing temperature in spring usually occurs around mid-April and the first freeze in the fall is usually in late October.

The following climatological data are based on records and measurements taken since 1948 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at Roanoke Municipal Airport. There may have been other extremes such as the drought of the early 1930s.

by CNB