Clanton sets new record low

Published 10:12 pm Monday, July 20, 2009

If this keeps up, Alabama might just shed its image as home of some of the country’s hottest, stickiest summers.

Fall-like crispness has replaced the usual oppressive heat in the area over the past few days. An 85-year-old record low was broken Monday morning, in fact, and a 106-year-old record is feeling the h—, well, being threatened.

“Generally, record lows this time of the year aren’t looked at,” said Jody Aaron, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Calera. “Usually, with cold fronts in the summer, lows during the day are because of cloud cover, and that isn’t conducive to the temperature staying low overnight.

“You need almost fall-like conditions to have these lows in the summer.”

Records for low temperatures were broken all across central Alabama on Monday.

In Clanton, a record low of 62 degrees—which was set in 1925 and tied in 1947 and 1962—was shattered with a low of 57 degrees.

And the cool weather isn’t over. The record low for July 21 is 60 degrees, set in 1903. NWS forecasts a low of 59 degrees Tuesday morning.

Low and high temperatures will creep back up to average levels over the course of the week, Aaron said, and rain is is possible Wednesday and Thursday.