Autumn has arrived in the Southeast U.S.

Morguefile/MaryRN

I believe that fall has finally arrived. To say “it’s about time” would be an understatement. It doesn’t take a weather expert for anyone to proclaim the summer of 2016 to be one of the hottest in the Southeastern United States. In essence, many of us could vouch that we certainly deserve autumn at this point which is early October. While there has been an absence of humidity over the past few weeks in the metro Atlanta region, the heat has been more than “on” well past summer’s expiration date. The lower humidity numbers helped during late September, but still, the sun is strong and well, “heat is heat even if it’s a so-called dry heat.” What transpired in September’s final days and October 2016’s early days has been the chilly mornings. Now, that was a game changer!

I would hate to burst the bubble on this good news, but as of this writing, we are still a tad too warm in the afternoons plus we are deeper into yet another drought. As folks wish to wash those houses and water the lawns and plants, this fact is something to keep in mind as conservation measures should have probably been in place. In most jurisdictions, the Atlanta metro area is typically late to the party on droughts. I cannot imagine that we will experience 2007-like drought conditions, but it’s now quite serious. One could easily see the levels dropping at Lake Lanier, Lake Allatoona and even Lake Hartwell on the Georgia-South Carolina border. There’s no doubt that we can do better to head off desperation that droughts bring upon populations.

While I’m writing about a lack of water supply, we could use the H20 associated with Hurricane Matthew which at this moment, is churning towards Jamaica and more importantly, to Haiti. This battered island nation is still attempting to climb out of the hole that the 2010 earthquake created for them. The last thing they need is a hurricane – not to mention a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. Folks in those areas are bracing for huge impacts so supplies are easily coming off the store shelves in places like Kingston, Jamaica. Notice when I write that we could use some H20 from that powerful hurricane, I honestly mean “some” of that moisture. Here’s hoping that Hurricane Matthew will not further damage Haiti or Jamaica.

Meanwhile state-side, the chill is in the air, football season is on, leaves are falling and perhaps those furnaces will kick in without any hassle – we all hope. We all also hope that there will not be some fluke leaving us with a 90- degree day or two. That one is quite doubtful. I am ready to forget those 90-degree nightmares. Thus, fall has arrived.