Break From the Excessive Heat Continues As We Prepare to Jump Into Meteorological Fall

Pleasant Moving Forward:

Yesterday featured a lovely break from the high heat and humidity. While it felt warm during the afternoon with highs topping out in the mid-to-upper 80s, the humidity thankfully remained low and comfortable. Monday's lovely weather continued into last night, with temperatures falling into the upper 50s-and-low 60s. Overall, a great opportunity to turn off your air conditioner and open up those windows. Fortunately for us, this break from the excessive summer heat is a lengthy one, sticking around not only for the rest of the work week, but also into Labor Day Weekend.

Cloud cover will be more present today, thanks to a weak disturbance sliding to our west and southwest. While a spotty shower may be possible for areas closer to the Quad Cities and Galena, our Tuesday looks to stay mainly dry with afternoon highs topping out in the low 80s. If you plan to head to Food Truck Tuesday over at Sinnissippi Park this afternoon and evening, the weather remains quiet and pleasant. Cloud cover will make a quick exit near or after sunset, allowing a process called radiational cooling to take place overnight. To make a long story short, radiational cooling is dependent on the amount of cloud cover and the strength of our surface winds during the overnight hours.

Cooler Nights Ahead: 

When you have generally clear skies and very light surface winds, this allows the radiation that was absorbed by the surface during the day to escape back into space, resulting in a fast drop in our temperatures. When you have a decent amount of cloud cover, it acts as a blanket, preventing the absorbed radiation from escaping back into the atmosphere. But with skies clearing up early, this will allow temperatures to rapidly fall. Overnight lows look to fall into the upper 50s tonight, and then the low 50s Wednesday night. 

Meteorological Fall:

This cooler, less humid weather pattern couldn't have come at a better time. Why you ask? Because September 1st marks the end of Meteorological Summer and the beginning of Meteorological Fall. Throughout the next three months, we encounter the biggest temperature drop when it comes to our average highs and low. More specifically when it comes to our average highs, which drop from the mid-70s on September 1st to the upper-40s by the end of November. I don't know about you, but I think summer has stayed long enough. I'm more than ready for what fall has to bring.