Fall starts at 11:09 tonight, but residents of the region can note the change of season only on the calendar. It will be almost impossible to do so otherwise.
Temperatures are likely to be far more summer-like than autumnal for the next few days and perhaps longer, forecasters say. The immediate prospects for beneficial precipitation to reduce the area’s growing rainfall deficit are relatively slim, as well. It’s safe to say that fall, for the moment at least, seems to be on hold.
The first day of fall is likely to be like so many in the last few months – hot and dry. The forecast is for temperatures around the region to be well above normal with little chance for widespread rains. The National Weather Service says the average high in Chattanooga for this date is in the low 80s. The predicted high is a very unfall-like 10 degrees above that.
That’s hardly surprising given recent global weather patterns. The past June, July and August were the warmest or among the warmest in the area since U.S. record-keeping began more than a century ago, according to a Weather Service spokesman.
That mirrors broader trends. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that this year, so far, has been the hottest on record. That mark is likely to stand. Even if the globe cools off in the next three months, the year still is likely to be the hottest or one of the hottest of all time.