We Interrupt Summer For Early Fall Cold Weather Thins Crowds At Park; Temperatures Forecast To Creep Up

Who stole the sun? Heleen Brien’s crystal ball was cloudy Sunday afternoon, but then again, so was everything else.

“You know what I think?” Brien asked, sitting on the counter of Quinn’s bike rentals in Riverfront Park. “I think this is the beginning of fall.”

Sunday capped off three days of cloudy, cool and damp weather, which is forecast to continue today.

Last week should have been the warmest of the year. Instead, it sent people scurrying for umbrellas and jackets.

Officially, the high temperature Sunday was 71 degrees, but it felt more like the low of 48. It usually hits 85 on an average Aug. 4 in Spokane, dipping down to 56.

In Riverfront Park, crowds were smaller, thinned by the cold wave. Some were happy with the natural air conditioning. Others weren’t amused.

“He’s from the South,” said Tonya Hall, nudging her husband. “He don’t like the chill.”

He certainly didn’t. Comparing Spokane with Birmingham, Ala., Joe Hall said the biggest differences are the kind of fish you catch and the weather. He wore a zipped-up jacket, jeans and heavy hiking boots.

“We need more heat,” he said. “As long as it ain’t the humidity.”

With the sky full of pregnant clouds, 18-year-old Nathan Thompson said he might as well be in Seattle. He sat behind the bike-rental counter at Quinn’s and contemplated moving to Arizona.

“I don’t think it’s ever going to get hot again - ever,” he said.

Some people made the best of the summer chill.

Lindsay Knight pelted ducks with bread Sunday afternoon, her arm working like a pitching machine. She wore a red sweatshirt and jeans.

“I hope it doesn’t get hot again,” said Knight, 16. “I like the cold weather better.”

Sorry, Lindsay, but temperatures are expected to start creeping up again, starting Tuesday. The cool northwest air flow out of British Columbia and the Gulf of Alaska will be moving out.

“It’s unusual today,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Strobin. “But we’ll get up to the 90s by the end of the week.”

That’s bad news for Chris Cate, a Riverfront Park tour train driver who has to wear blue-andwhite striped overalls as his uniform.

“The 100s - it’s not for me,” Cate said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo