From 71 to 17

Our stretch of nice weather has come to an end. This post's title is how one of the local meteorologists summed up our temperatures for a 24-hour period. The prediction turned out to be almost right on track.

Yesterday the high reached 78°Fahrenheit in the 2 pm hour. Then a cold front came through, the wind picked up, and the temperatures started dropping:

• At 3 pm it was 73°.

• At 4 pm it was 58°. I changed from capri shorts to jeans, and put socks on.

• By 5 pm it had dropped to 49°. I closed the windows and (even though the thermostat was still showing 69° I turned on the furnace so it could go on when it was needed).

• At 6 pm the thermometer read 42°. A strong wind rattled the windows.

• Then the drop slowed a bit. At 7 pm it was 34°, 8 pm 33°, and at 9 pm 29°. At that point I stopped paying attention, but this morning my phone app told me the lowest point was a frigid 14° at 4 am.

I haven't heard anything official, but it sounds like the area may have come close to or surpassed the largest 24-hour temperature drop in St. Louis history, which occurred on November 11, 1911. According to the National Weather Service, on that day temperatures plummeted 65 degrees, with readings falling from summer-like highs (around 78°F) to the low teens or single digits by the next morning.

Five years ago today: It's All About The Fizz