It has been humid and yet oxymoronically dry here for the last few weeks. It goes without saying that July in Georgia is hot. We saw the stories about the incursion of cool, northern air into the United States all over the national news for the last few days, but we wondered if it would mean anything for us.
Late Tuesday afternoon the dark clouds gathered and it began to thunder somewhere on the other side of the mountain.
Ragged clouds scudded across the sky.
And then it began to rain.
A tenth of an inch later, it was over.
We looked at the weather radar and figured that it was all hype, as usual. Later Tuesday night we got another third of an inch, so we totaled nearly a half an inch. It’s not much, but we’ll take it.
Wednesday morning dawned cool and clear. The rain failed to show, but the cold front was real, and it was here. The sky was dark blue with a few fair-weather cumulus clouds, the temperature was in the low 60s and the humidity had been chased south. The atmosphere had been stagnant, humid, filled with dust, smoke and chemicals that the sunlight and humidity turned into haze. It was not serious, just the usual summer conditions. The air the cold front brought in was fresh and still clean and clear enough that Kennesaw Mountain, probably 45 to 50 miles to the southeast of us, was visible on the horizon.
There it is, Kennesaw Mountain, right under the arrow
It felt great on the morning dog walk. In fact, I was just a little cool when I started out. We walked down into Texas Valley, which is the shady side of the mountain. I eventually warmed up enough to break a sweat, but it was nothing like Tuesday morning, when I got back home and had to change my shirt because it was so sweaty.
It was a little bit of fall in the middle of July. It won’t last long. The air might be from Canada, but the sun is still all Georgia. We’ll enjoy it while it lasts. It’s supposed to be even cooler Wednesday night.
The much-talked-about Polar Vortex arrived here on Monday and will be gone by Friday, leaving the weekend to the usual hot Midwestern temps. Too bad that most of the good days are being spend in the office at work. Ain’t fair!
There’s nothing better than cool clean beautiful clear air. Enjoy every minute of it!
Pablo — You’re right, it’s a true waste to have days like these when you’re stuck at work. That’s another reason I’m glad I retired.
Robin Andrea — It was even cooler this morning, and we did enjoy it!
Another trial comment for Scott’s benefit – and I meant to reply to this post before this.
It has been cooler here for much of the day, though yesterday temperatures reached normal highs, just much slower and for a much shorter period of time. It was dry though! Last night the clouds moved in so the low 60s forecast for night turned out to be 70. Just now, even at 76F at 5pm, we got a minuscule amount of rain and the humidity rose instantly. Now I’m sweating even at that temperature. Just like (all) last summer. Misery index.
I notice the pollution most at night, and it’s mixed with light pollution from Athens. We’re low down so can’t see the horizon as you can. But since 1991, I’ve watched the stars gradually dim and disappear further up the sky in the west as Athens continues its relentless propagation outward.
Wayne — I noticed on the Atlanta news that the front had apparently stalled before it reached the Athens area. It was really nice here while it lasted. It made me want to move some place where the summers are always like that.
We look directly out over Rome from here and the light pollution is pretty overwhelming. I’m so used to that kind of thing that it seems natural that the night sky is actually not dark any more. I can remember taking motorcycle rides out west in my younger days when I would pull to the side of the road and put my sleeping bag down on the ground without a tent. I would stare up at the sky and be amazed by all the stars. But not here.