After NASA announced that July was the hottest month in 136 years of modern record-keeping, the agency found that August was just as hot. So far, September in St. Louis has been hotter than an average September for the riverfront city, though no records have been broken for individual days.
This, however, does not mean we have failed to notice the lingering summer heat. According to the National Weather Service, the temperature for Sept. 2016 has ranged between a low of 58 degrees and a high of 96 degrees. Last week, the average high hovered just a degree below 90 degrees. Along with the oppressive humidity, these temperatures are too hot!
Last Tursday was the first day of fall, and the UNews Ed. Board is ready to embrace the season. Copy editor Mack Korris mentioned that he is anxious to “bust out all [his] jackets.” Editor-in-Chief and native Texan Kyle Smith, on the other hand, noted how he “didn’t own a winter jacket until college.”
Autumn weather in St. Louis is something to look forward to. After the heat has receded and before the cold sets in, there is a period where you can walk briskly from class to class without breaking a sweat. No longer will you see professors in three-piece suits with shirts sticking to their sweaty bodies. Instead, you will see leaves beginning to turn red and gold and everyone wearing their cool-weather garb.
Although we think of September as fall, the weather does not typically cool off until a ways into October. Still, with school several weeks in, we like to think of September as the beginning of a crisp autumn.
A few weeks into school brings about a longing for seasonal change. We have experienced summer for all too long, and we look forward to changing our wardrobe and experiencing seasonal activities. With fall approaching, we think about the holiday season, but the persistent summer weather makes those thoughts feel out of place.
Added to the heat, humidity makes just walking around in St. Louis uncomfortable. Humidity in St. Louis ruins sunny days and provides an environment for mosquitoes to thrive. With the humidity gone, insects leave with it, and being outside is much more bearable. Te mid-60-degree weather feels great in the sun and in the shade, and you can’t go wrong with short or long sleeves.
The cooler weather is also great for activities outside. While upper 80s with high humidity restricts the best of us to the air-conditioned indoors, the cool fall weather makes the thought of going outside inviting. When you run outside, you break a sweat, but you do not look like someone threw a bucket of water on you. Lounging in one of the hammocks in the quad is much more enjoyable as well. Sitting outside while doing homework, eating or chatting with friends is much more appealing.
Unfortunately, St. Louis weather is capricious, and the National Weather Service predicts the heat will return to the 80s next week. Although the humidity will likely not come with it, it is hard to say what will confront us in the coming weeks. The hot weather is not wanted, but neither is cold weather.
People do not respond well to drastic change, and unfortunately St. Louis does not cater to our preferences. Last year, despite the widespread flooding, we had a relatively temperate winter, but in the past it has not been so. St. Louis’ winters will dip far below freezing and the windchill will bring it under zero. So when we pray for the heat to go away, we must remember the possibility of a frigid winter looming.
For now, we have a mild fall to look forward to, a seasonal respite from unappealing St. Louis weather.
