After weeks of summerlike heat, cool, Canadian air has dropped into the Heartland. The jet stream is ushering in this fresh breath of spring, dipping east of the Rockies, across the Southern Plains and then northeastward above the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys.
Here in mid Missouri, we awoke to clear, dry air and a temperature of 48 degrees F, twenty degrees cooler than recent overnight lows. Our high is forecast to peak near 70 degrees this afternoon, a pleasant change from the oppressive air that enveloped our region through most of May. Indeed, on this first calendar day of summer, we will enjoy our first spring-like day in many weeks.
Of course, nature pays no heed to the human calendar and her unpredictable style demands our attention. While we are grateful for her refreshing gift today, the next round of heat and humidity sits on our doorstep and a long, hot summer may soon take hold. Hopefully, she'll appease us with occasional waves of cool, northern air until the invigorating chill of autumn invades the Midwest.
