Where Has Our Summer Gone?

I half expect Jacques Cousteau to climb into the Calypso and setoff "In Search of Summer." Not this pseudo-summer of light jacketsand whitecaps on Lake Michigan. I'm talking about summers we sweatedthrough in the late 1980s, when a high of 90 was considered a coolday. When you could almost walk across the swimming pool because itwas so crowded. When it was so hot even the Good Humor ice creamvendor was grouchy.

Could this prolonged cool spell have anything to do with thatcomet hitting Jupiter? Absolutely not; in fact, there's really noobvious culprit. All we know is the jet stream is about 500 to 800miles farther south than it should be. As a result we are gettingweather typical for southern Canada, and anything hot and stuffy isbeing shoved south of St. Louis.

Rain will begin to taper off this morning, and we'll see alittle sun this evening, with more on tap for tomorrow. Although weshould see some low 80s late in the week, Sunday and Monday shouldbe cool again. Weather Quiz

If you turned on the TV or radio and heard someone talking about a"mesoconvective complex" approaching, you could expect: A) An outbreak of tornadoes. B) Flooding rains. C) A once-in-a-century hurricane. D) A big bill from your therapist.

Answer: (B) These clusters of thunderstorms, sometimes more than100 miles wide, tend to form at night over the Plains, travelinghundreds of miles before weakening in the morning. Weather Fact

A "flash flood" is defined as 6 inches or more of rain falling in6 hours or less. Flash floods are most likely to occur during thesummer months, when steering currents are light and thunderstorms canstall.