SPOILED BY 60s; GET READY FOR THE BIG TEMP PLUNGE

The first few days of December had people thinking less about sweaters and coats and more about T-shirts and shorts.

Temperatures hovered around 65 and the sun shone brightly most of the time, beckoning people away from the heater and out-of-doors. It was a welcome change from the autumn chill of just a week ago.

Dr. Alfred Robertson, a climatologist at Southeast Missouri State University, said the average high temperature for December in Southeast Missouri is 45 degrees. That's well under the 66-degree mark hit last Saturday.

The average low temperature for December is 32 degrees, but the average so far this December is 37.2.

Robertson attributes the warm weather to the jet stream traveling steadily from west to east. None of the cold Canadian air was able to dip into Missouri, but warm air from the Gulf of Mexico came up.

Things began changing Wednesday, when the high temperature hit only 42 degrees. By the weekend, high temperatures should be only around 35 in Southeast Missouri.

The 90-day forecast issued by the National Weather Service predicts average to warmer-than-average temperatures for December, January and February, but Robertson said that forecast doesn't reflect days when the mercury dips or climbs dramatically.

Already there have been some big temperature fluctuations in Cape Girardeau. The high was 67 degrees on Nov. 27 and only 37 degrees just the next day.

Although the popular old wives' tale predicts these big changes will lead to colds and other illnesses, Dr. Robb Hicks of Immediate Health Care said changes in weather don't make you sick -- winter viruses do.

"One thing that may make a difference is the change in humidity," he said. "As things get drier and noses dry out, people have more sinus problems. And there's a group of winter viruses that become more prevalent."

People with allergies, too, may be plagued by the current weather. There hasn't been the usual long freeze to kill ragweed and other irritants, making allergy victims suffer longer into the season.

Hicks recommended prevention as the key to a healthier winter. People should wash their hands more and take more vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene.

But area farmers and plant lovers aren't only concerned about the weather because of their health -- they want to know how the changes will affect their crops and plants.

Don't fear, Dr. Charles Korns said. A professor in the agriculture department at Southeast, Korns said plants should be safe from danger despite the change in temperature.

"We had some cool weather in November and the plants dropped their leaves," he said. "When you have a warm fall and then the bottom drops out of the temperature, you have some damage."

Another concern is precipitation. Robertson's records show this is the eighth-driest fall for Southeast Missouri in 78 years, with only 5.3 inches of rain in three months.

That might affect some leafy plants, Korns said, including azaleas, hollies and evergreens.

There may be some precipitation Friday -- the weather service office in St. Louis is predicting a 30 percent chance of snow with temperatures in the mid-30s to lower 40s.