Cold blast may signal end of summer highs

The summer that seemed like it would last forever might have finally met its end with a cold front that will move through the Tennessee Valley today.

Monday's high of 91 degrees was likely the last hurrah of summer for the Shoals, said Brian Carcione, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Huntsville. Starting today, cool Canadian air will begin flowing into the Tennessee Valley, with daytime highs in the low 70s forecast for Friday and Saturday.

Carione said the cooldown should bring an end to the unseasonably warm temperatures that have plagued north Alabama for much of this fall.

"We're probably not going to see temperatures in the 90s again this year," Carcione said. "That's not to say we're not going see some more warm weather, but getting above 90 is going to be almost impossible."

The temperature in the Shoals has risen above 90 degrees after Oct. 15 only three times since record keeping began in 1893, Carcione said. In 1915, the high temperature in the Shoals was 90 on Oct. 17 and 91 on Oct. 18. On Oct. 22, 1963, the high in the Shoals was 90 degrees.

Normal high temperatures for the Shoals in early October are in the upper 70s, cooling off to the upper 60s by the end of the month.

With morning lows around 50 degrees forecast for Thursday through Sunday, Carcione said there will be a definite feel of fall in the air later this week.

Among local residents excited by the forecast is Lenis McGee, an owner of McGee Farms north of Florence. He expects the cool snap to boost sales of pumpkins at his farm near the Zip City community.

"The pumpkin business always picks up when it cools off in the fall. It don't seem right shopping for pumpkins or going on a hayride when it's 90 degrees," McGee said.

The lackluster sales so far this fall are the latest weather woe for McGee and other local farmers who grow pumpkins.

Record-setting hot weather during the summer took a toll on the size of pumpkins, McGee said.

At the North Alabama State Fair in September, Charles Andrews, a regional agent for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, said the average size of pumpkins displayed there were down considerably from previous years.

"We've got plenty of pumpkins, but not a lot of big ones," McGee said. "It's hard to grow big pumpkins in 100-degree weather."

While the unusually warm weather should be over, there is no end in sight for the drought, Carcione said. Scattered showers are possible today, but they will do little toward ending the dry spell.

Rainfall in the Shoals is more than 16 inches below normal for the year.

As Florence Parks and Recreation Department employees mowed grass at McFarland Park on Monday, their mowers stirred up clouds of dust. The dusty conditions are expected to persist at least through next week.

"Our rain chances don't look very good," Carcione said. "None of the long-range forecasts are offering much promise in the way of relief from the drought."

Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@timesdaily.com.