Fresh breezes now; dog days return this weekend
Talk about a respectable cool front. August blows in with fresh northwest breezes. Highs Thursday feel more like September with pleasant temperatures in the 70s. Gunky summer heat and humidity get shoved all the way to Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis.
Our free air conditioning is welcome for many, but it won't last long. Temperatures push higher by the weekend. And sticky dew points in the 60s return.
Dog days
So where did the term "dog days" come from anyway? Here's the Merriam-Webster definition.
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1: the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere
2: a period of stagnation or inactivity
Wikipedia says this:
The dog days or dog days of summer are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star Sirius, which Greek and Roman astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Stagnant atmospheric weather patterns are common in late summer. The jet stream is usually on Canadian vacation in early August. The jet typically shifts south as we approach September, driving the season's first cold front south. My hunch is we have a many more hot and sticky days before that happens for real.