World and Nation

A humid end to summer

Summer is commonly regarded as beginning on Memorial Day weekend and ending on Labor Day weekend. While the astronomical summer runs from June 21 to Sept. 22, the warmest temperatures tend to lag the peak insolation; meteorological summer is therefore defined as June, July, and August. Therefore, defining Labor Day as the end of summer does have some merit.

Looking back at the start of the summer, Memorial Day weekend was very chilly, with daytime temperatures in the 40°Fs and 50°Fs, but the weather rebounded a bit and was pleasant on Memorial Day itself.

This weekend, the end to summer looks to be a bit better than the beginning. The passage of a warm front this morning will push yesterdays foggy, misty, and unseasonably cold weather out of the way. This will pave the way for temperatures in the low to mid 80°Fs (a bit above normal) for the holiday weekend. It won’t be picture perfect though; it will be humid and there is a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms throughout the weekend, but nothing widespread. Unfortunately, the best chance for rain looks to be on Labor Day itself as a cold front approaches the region.