Fall is about to Begin

What a weekend. A few clouds hung tough in Saturday, but Sunday lived up to its name and that helped push the high temp at Reagan National to 92. Not a record there, but Dulles hit 91 and that did set a new record. Pretty amazing, especially when you consider the average high over the past 30 years in Washington is now down to 71.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. A cold front will be moving through Tuesday night and that will usher in more "normal" weather. In fact, there are signs that weekend temps may not even get out of the 60s. I know that you've probably been using the air conditioning a lot lately, but I imagine that you'll need the furnace by this weekend with overnight temps down into the 40s.

One thing that we an use is rain. It's been a pathetic year with deficits running between 8 and 19 inches. We're running about 4 inches below normal just since September 1st. Several areas are under water restrictions and if we don't get a decent amount of rainfall this fall and winter, I fear that 2008 could be as bad if not worse than in 2002.

Along with the farmers, landscapers are also hurting as many people have put their landscape plans on hold until the weather changes. Perhaps planting some more hearty and drought resistant varieties is the way to go.