Don’t know about you, but I am getting a little tired of this very dry and very warm weather. Fall is my favorite season (longtime readers are well aware of that), and I am truly looking forward to the golden days of October that feature days with a bright, cobalt blue sky and crisp nights that get us well down in the 40s. On those kind of days visibilities are excellent; you get on top of Mt. Cheaha and you think you should be able to see Birmingham to the west and Atlanta to the east.
Autumn officially arrives this year at 5:23 p.m. on Thursday, September 22. That is when the sun is directly over the equator on the journey southward, and we have approximately 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. The average high here drops to 80 degrees, and the average low 58 degrees, by the end of September. It has been as cold as 37 degrees during September; that was recorded on September 30, 1967.
The average date of the first freeze in Birmingham is November 8, but freezing temperatures have been recorded as early as October 18, 1948.
Looking ahead, the latest computer model runs don’t suggest any really major change to significantly cool temperatures over the next 7 to 10 days. There is some suggestion that a nice batch of cool air might flood the southeast U.S. toward the end of the month, which should get most places well down in the 50s. Maybe even some 40s over north Alabama.
People all the time ask if I think the winter ahead will be cold or mild. My answer is very simple: I don’t know. Long range outlooks are rarely accurate, and for now I don’t see any clues that offer evidence one way or another. I usually have a general opinion by the time we get to late October.
Spaeking of late October, I notice Halloween stuff is up in all of the stores now, so guess fall weather can't be that far away...
Autumn officially arrives this year at 5:23 p.m. on Thursday, September 22. That is when the sun is directly over the equator on the journey southward, and we have approximately 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. The average high here drops to 80 degrees, and the average low 58 degrees, by the end of September. It has been as cold as 37 degrees during September; that was recorded on September 30, 1967.
The average date of the first freeze in Birmingham is November 8, but freezing temperatures have been recorded as early as October 18, 1948.
Looking ahead, the latest computer model runs don’t suggest any really major change to significantly cool temperatures over the next 7 to 10 days. There is some suggestion that a nice batch of cool air might flood the southeast U.S. toward the end of the month, which should get most places well down in the 50s. Maybe even some 40s over north Alabama.
People all the time ask if I think the winter ahead will be cold or mild. My answer is very simple: I don’t know. Long range outlooks are rarely accurate, and for now I don’t see any clues that offer evidence one way or another. I usually have a general opinion by the time we get to late October.
Spaeking of late October, I notice Halloween stuff is up in all of the stores now, so guess fall weather can't be that far away...
on September 14, 2005, 4:34 am
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