Sunday, October 2, 2011

Indian Summer for Some Folks

A ridge of Canadian high pressure is centered along a line from Rhinelander, WI. southward across northwestern IL., eastern MO.,eastern Arkansas, through the central Louisiana gulf coast. It dominates the weather over most of the nations midsection. The wind is calm, skies are clear, and dew points are in the upper 30's to low 40's. With the air saturating close to the surface in the next couple of hours, heavy dew will form, (fog patches are possible), and where the temperatures drop into the middle 30's there will be patchy frost late. Areas of frost will linger past 7 am, but will melt off before 8 am. High pressure remain nearly stationary on Monday. Skies will be sunny along with light winds, and temperatures will moderate into the low 70s by mid afternoon. 

Much of northern and northwestern Illinois had the first freeze of the season on Saturday night effectively bringing an end to the growing season of 2011, so it can be said that Indian Summer will be with us this week. It was cold enough in many rural areas to kill the corn, and that is a good thing because it was mature, and will help to dry the crop out for harvest.  Tomatoes, peppers, and sensitive annual flowing plants were killed in the WTVO garden. The official temperature at the Rockford airport was 33 degrees, so the growing season has not ended yet in Rockford. 

High pressure will move very little the next couple of days.  Winds will be light. The air will slowly moderate with afternoon temperatures edging up a little each day through the 70's.  The sky will be clear at night and sunny during the day for the entire week.  It is possible to reach 80 degrees by next weekend as the high moves east, and a southerly air flow develops across the midwest.

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