Cool under pressure

Tuesday brought a cool break in what has been a steamy May for Southeast Missouri, making both playtime and work time more pleasant for those outside.

By midafternoon, temperatures in Cape Girardeau County dipped from 68 degrees to the high 50s. This was about 15 degrees below normal for the time of year and was likely a result of heavy cloud cover combined with a cold air mass dropping down from Canada, said Dan Spaeth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Paducah, Ky.

"Typically in this time of year, the sun is so high in the sky that it will modify that," he said. "But with a strong north wind and no sun, it makes for a colder day."

The rest of the week should bring more of the same, as strong high pressure will build over the Midwest for the next few days bringing pleasant temperatures and comfortable humidity levels.

Fawn Coomer of Cape Girardeau took advantage of the friendly temperatures to let her sons, Blake, 8, and Seth, 4, put in a heavy play session on the swings at Capaha Park.

"We try to come here four or five times a month," Coomer said, giving Blake a push. "Last night, after playing on a trampoline at my brother's house, the boys were so tired and hot that all they wanted to do was take a bath and go to bed. But with today's nice weather, they wanted to come right here."

The cloud cover broke up during the evening, opening up the sky to let in slightly warmer temperatures for today and the rest of the week.

But residents can still count on cooler than normal temperatures through the weekend, Spaeth said.

That's good news for Todd Kluesner of Kluesner Concreters. His eight-man crew worked along William Street Tuesday afternoon on a street-widening project. As temperatures rise, the thick, hot air slows the pace.

"Our production is a lot higher when it's cool weather," he said. "The humidity is the main thing. It's a killer. We can't take organized breaks. We just keep going and take five minutes here or there, whenever a guy needs a break."

No serious storms are expected to come through the area, either, Spaeth said.

"We're happy to see this calm things down for a while," he said. "Any significant weather will be well to the south and east of us."

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160