The past few days residents of the greater Columbus area may have noticed a slight crisp in the air, prompting them to go back inside for a sweater.
On July 23, according to the National Weather Service, the temperature was 69 degrees at 10 a.m. at the John Glenn Columbus International Airport.
Christopher Hogue, meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Wilmington, said the colder temperatures July 22-23 are a result of the cold front that moved through and the cooler and dryer air that came in from southern Canada.
"It's relatively normal in the summer, occasionally we get a front or two through this part of the summer," Hogue said.
What is bringing these colder temps?
A cold front is when a cold air mass pushes under a warm and lighter air front. It often brings severe
weather, like the thunderstorms that rolled through Columbus earlier in the week.
The cold front and high pressure area, as Hogue explained, are changing the direction of where the winds are coming from. That's what makes it colder. With a cold front, the high pressure area tends to bring northwest winds, where the air is cooler.
On July 22 the high temperature in the Columbus area was in the mid 70s, so about 10 degrees cooler than normal. The low temperature was in the upper 50s. Overall, the temperatures were between eight and 10 degrees below normal. That's not unheard of and typically happens a couple times a year, Hogue said.
When will typical summertime temps return?
Hogue said it will likely be in the lower 80s on July 24 and back to near normal middle 80s for a high temperature on July 25.
According to AccuWeather, the forecast for Columbus predicts a high of 79 and a low of 59 on July 24 and a high of 85 and a low of 66 on July 25.
"As this high pressure area moves across the east − that's the source of the cool air− we will start picking up winds down out of the south again, we will start warming up more towards summertime normal temperatures," Hogue said.
Normal temperatures for Columbus area this time of the year are high temperatures in the middle 80s and low temperatures in the mid 60s, according to Hogue.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Why Columbus is experiencing unseasonable temps in July
