JACKSON — Mississippi has made it through another September of 90-degree afternoons, steering wheels too hot to touch and air conditioners that can’t keep up.
Relief may be on the way next week.
The National Weather Service forecast shows temperatures starting to drop over the weekend and into next week. In Jackson, Tuesday’s high is expected to be around 92 degrees, but by Sunday it should be closer to 84. Monday could top out around 80, with morning lows in the 60s. Rain and thunderstorms are expected to come in with the cooler air.
So get your hoodie out, but don’t box up the shorts just yet. Welcome to “false fall.”
AccuWeather meteorologist Jesse Ferrell has described it as a stretch of cooler weather that breaks up the heat before temperatures climb again, sometimes into what people call “second summer.” There’s no strict definition for it, and it can happen more than once between August and November.
Fall in Mississippi usually comes in fits and starts. If you’re an SEC football fan, you know there will be cold weekends followed by scorching weekends, and you simply layer accordingly.
Average temperatures slowly drop as the season changes, but day to day, things can swing a good bit. A cold front can come through and bring cool mornings and nice afternoons, and then the heat can come right back a few days later.
Weather.com describes false fall the same way, as a brief cool spell that makes it feel like autumn is here before summer returns for another round.
Most Mississippians have been through it before.
One morning you’re on the porch with a cup of coffee and a sweatshirt, thinking about making chili. A few days later, you’re sweating in the grocery store parking lot.
This cool-down should be felt across central Mississippi. The National Weather Service’s latest seven-day forecast has Monday highs around 78 in Greenville, 79 in Greenwood and Vicksburg, and 80 in Jackson and Meridian.
More cool air could follow. The National Weather Service’s extended outlook shows the weather pattern changing in early October, with cooler-than-normal temperatures possible in parts of the eastern United States around Oct. 6-7.
Not everyone likes the term “false fall.” Some meteorologists say the phrase gets overused, because fall is supposed to go back and forth between warm and cool. Maybe those swings are simply what fall looks like.
Whatever people call it, most will just be glad to see mornings in the 60s after weeks of heat.
Open the windows, sit on the porch, make a pot of soup and wear your favorite sweatshirt, even if it’s 79 degrees by lunch. Just keep the flip-flops handy.
