Summer ends with hot, bad air

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Fall officially began at 11:09 p.m. on Wednesday, but Tuesday's last full day of summer felt a lot like July and August, with highs in the mid-90s and metro Atlanta under yet another air quality alert.

The city's air quality exceeded federal ozone standards on Monday for the seventh time this month, according to officials with the state's Clean Air Campaign. That's the most number of days in September -- the last month of Atlanta's "smog season," -- since 2002.

So far in 2010, Atlanta's ozone level has exceeded federal standards on 23 days, compared to 14 last year.

The "Code Orange" alert issued by the state Department of Natural Resources for Tuesday means the city's air is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups.

For everyone else, Tuesday's air was just plain hot. Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton predicted highs around 95 on Tuesday and 91 on Wednesday. Normal high for the waning days of summer is 81 degrees.

On Monday, highs across the area ranged from 94 in Marietta to 96 at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and 97 in Rome.

The forecast for the first few days of autumn calls for slightly lower afternoon temperatures, reaching 90 on Thursday and 89 on Friday before climbing back into the low 90s on Saturday.

There's a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms over the weekend, and those showers, if they develop, could hold temperatures on Sunday in the mid-80s.