Area temperatures reached record lows twice this week

A large cool-air mass that moved through the Cape Girardeau region resulted in two consecutive record-setting low temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The previous low temperature for Aug. 25 was 54 degrees, set in 2009, but Tuesday, temperatures reached 52 degrees, 12 lower than the average low temperature.

The next day, it got cooler still, dropping to 51 degrees -- 13 degrees lower than the average and one degree below the previous record of 52, set in 2010.

Meteorologist Dan Spaeth said the fact the previous records were only five and six years old, respectively, shouldn't minimize the phenomenon.

"Well, it's the record for over 50 some-odd years at that sight," he said. "It's a fairly rare occurrence. Any time you set a record low or a record high, that's a pretty big deal."

The lower temperatures shouldn't be cause for alarm, however, Spaeth said, as the cause of the cool snap has passed.

"We've bottomed out. We were a little bit warmer this morning, and we're heading into a pretty significant warming trend going into the weekend," he said. "We've seen the coolest air that this air mass is going to produce for us. ... It's going to be modifying over the next several days and warming up."

He said looking into the future, there are some indications of cooler weather, but the area likely is headed for a "normal" autumn.

"For September, we're going to be trending towards below normal. We'll have a better chance for below-normal temperatures than anything else, and precipitation will probably be normal," Spaeth said. "But for the entire autumn season, there are no strong signals there either way. We've got equal chances to be above or below precipitation and temperatures."

Spaeth also said from a national perspective, this winter may be affected significantly by El Nino, a periodical phenomenon in which warming in the Pacific Ocean disrupts -- and in some cases reverses -- typical weather patterns. But from a local perspective, the Midwest sits in the middle of El Nino's usual jet-stream mischief, relatively untouched.

When it comes to reaping the effects of El Nino, the Cape Girardeau area could do a lot worse than record-low temperatures in the summertime.

Marine biologists in California are blaming the current El Nino for an uncommonly high concentration of shark activity along the Pacific coast.

The Weather Channel reported the warming waters are allowing sharks to follow their prey past the ordinary areas.

The appearance of red tuna crabs washed ashore in southern California also is worrisome, as a similar phenomenon occurred before the particularly strong El Nino in 1997.

"Unfortunately, El Nino is a big story, but it doesn't do a whole lot for us," Spaeth said. "But considering the past few winters we've had, not a whole lot might not be a bad thing."

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627