Mindy McAdams spent part of Thursday on her Vespa scooter, winding and curving through the Chattahoochee National Forest in North Georgia, and she said the day felt cool even when she was sitting still.

“It’s not so hot to me,” said the Gainesville, Fla., resident, who is in town for this weekend’s Amerivespa 2008 rally.

Moving a bit more slowly, Michael Dawkins said it felt like “outside walking” weather as he strolled along the Walnut Street Bridge about 7 p.m. Thursday.

Unlike Monday, when Chattanooga experienced its year-to-date high of 100 degrees, temperatures over the weekend and into next week are expected to settle around 90, said David Gaffin, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tenn.

“It’s a typical summertime pattern,” he said, one that also includes the chance for afternoon thunderstorms.

But as July dwindles, August approaches, and last year that month was brutal.

August 2007 was the hottest month in Chattanooga since records started being kept in 1879. Temperatures hit 100 or higher on nine days, and the average high was 98 degrees. From Aug. 4 through Aug. 22, temperatures hit 95 degrees or hotter, according to the weather service.

Temperatures are expected to be above normal in Chattanooga this August, Mr. Gaffin said. But they probably won’t be as bad as last year, he said.

The norm for August is in the upper 80s for a high and upper 60s for a low. It looks as though the actual temperatures this year will be highs in the lower 90s and lows in the lower 70s, he said.

“That’s really what we’ve been getting lately, so we’ll probably see more of the same,” Mr. Gaffin said.

Rainfall expected this weekend also is normal, since July is one of the wettest months of the year, he said.

Last year at this time the city had accumulated 18.16 inches of rain, Mr. Gaffin said, and this year there has been 26.19 inches.

“So we’re doing a lot better than last year,” he said. “But it’s still 6.49 inches below normal.”

Comments