Last Thursday, there were several locations in our area that hit 100°. As I'm writing this piece Wednesday morning, there are a lot of us waking up to temperatures in the 50s.
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It's part of what makes weather in this part of the world interesting, though I'm sure someone in Colorado would say, "Hold my Coors Light."
Temperature swings of this caliber are common, as we transition from summer to fall.
Right now, daylight is decreasing rapidly to the north. Less daylight means there's less opportunity for warmth. Meanwhile, areas to our south continue to feel the heat.
This temperature difference makes for a more active jet stream pattern.
When the jet stream dips, we feed off a little of that cooler air from the north. When it rises again, the hotter air from the south comes surging back.
The loss of daylight farther north is a large part of why they see the fall colors changing earlier than us. Remember that third-grade spelling bee word, photosynthesis?
The folks at Explore Fall are showing that process play out currently along Alaska's Brooks Range.
We still have some time before we see the colors changing in North Carolina, but a trip to the High Country may be worth your while in the next four-to-five weeks.
During this time, we lose daylight at a clip of about 30 minutes per two weeks.
