Weather Eye: The last day of the fair will be a hot one, so get out there early

Temperatures early Saturday were in the low 50s in much of the urban area of Clark County but in the low- to mid-40s in the outlying areas. Chilly even. Enjoy that thought as the weather today and Monday will be back in the hot category and overnight lows near 60 much of the week.

Toss in some moisture streaming up from the south, and humidity and clouds increase by later Monday.

I noticed this past week quite a few grasshoppers making their appearance. Seems like some summers we see plenty and others hardly at all. It sure is dry enough for them.

Heard my first cricket the other evening. It is always a fun thing to do in the late-evening hours, listen to the cricket chirp and see how accurate he is at telling the temperature. Here is the formula: Count the number of chirps in 14 seconds, then add 40 to get temperature. Example: 33 chirps + 40 = 73° F. For a fun example for kids on the Web where you can set the temperature and hear the chirps, go to http://www.almanac4kids.com/outdoors/index.php

The hours of daylight are getting noticeably less as each day goes by as the sun makes its trek toward southern latitudes. That and the push by retailers to advance the seasons kind of takes the fun out of late summer for me. Back to school, winter apparel and even Halloween stuff out already. Enjoy summer while it is still here!

Unless we get rain from a passing thunderstorm, I still see no general rains on the horizon. Only a trace fell so far this month on the first day, so the month is keeping rather dry. The last day of the fair will be a hot one, so go early.

Enjoy your week, and we will chat on Tuesday!