SUMMER WILL ARRIVE ON FRIDAY

The first day of summer will feel more like mid-summer, according to the National Weather Service.

Hot and humid weather is forecast Friday, the first day of summer, with a chance of scattered thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday. Highs will range in the low- to mid-90s, with overnight lows in the low- to mid-70s.

And the 30-day, mid-June to mid-July weather outlook indicates a hot and dry period is ahead for Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Summer arrives at 4:19 p.m. Friday. That's when the sun will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer. The event is also called the Summer Solstice.

At this point, the sun will have reached the high point, or zenith, in the sky. After Friday, it will begin a leisurely retreat southward, crossing the equator in September during the fall equinox.

The first day of summer also produces the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the first day of winter.

From the equator to the Arctic Circle Friday, the sun will rise and set at the point farthest north on the horizon for 1991. The length of daylight at the equator will be the longest, 12 hours and eight minutes. Close to the Arctic Circle, there will be 24 hours of daylight.

Although summer begins Friday, the hottest period of summer in the Cape Girardeau area typically occurs in July and August. Meteorologists explain that's because it take weeks for the atmosphere and oceans to warm up in spring and early summer.

The same time lag in seasonal temperatures occurs in winter, when the coldest period of winter in this area occurs from mid-January to mid-February, nearly three to four weeks after the first day of winter.

This seasonal temperature lag is illustrated in the monthly, 10-day temperature averages for Cape Girardeau.

For the period June 11-20, the 10-day average is 75.9 degrees. By the end of the month, the average rises to 78.1 degrees.

The 10-day average peaks at 79.7 degrees between July 11-20, then begins to decline in early August and continues until mid-January.

The forecast of hot, dry weather through mid-July continues a trend that began in early June.

So far this month, the airport has measured less than an inch (.99) of rain, although heavier amounts have fallen in isolated locations in the Cape Girardeau area. Long-term average precipitation at the airport during June is 3.88 inches. In June 1990, less than two inches (1.65) fell at the airport.

Despite the sparse rainfall this month, the level of the Mississippi River has been above normal thanks to extensive rainfall over the upper Midwestern states during the past four to six weeks. More heavy rains fell in that area this week, with more forecast through the end of the week.

National Weather Service hydrologist Jack Burns said Wednesday that falls of 4-6 feet on the Mississippi River are expected during the next 30 days between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau.

"There's a healthy rise coming down the Missouri (River) below Kansas City this week," Burns said. "The river at St. Charles rose 4.5 feet during the 24-hour period from June 18-19."

Burns said the upper Mississippi above St. Louis will continue to fall very slowly because of the large volume of water coming down from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Northern Illinois. He said the river has remained at or a few feet above flood stage at Grafton, Ill., since April 1.

What this means, said Burns, is that a lot of water is still coming downstream.

He said the Mississippi at St. Louis is forecast to drop from 22.3 Wednesday to 19 feet by June 26, 17 feet by July 3, and 15 feet by July 17.

At Cape Girardeau, the river is forecast to drop from 26.6 feet Wednesday to 20 feet by June 26, 18.8 feet by July 3, and 16 feet by July 17.

The Ohio River at Cairo, Ill., is expected to fall from 26.1 feet Wednesday to 19.7 feet by July 17.

While the prolonged high water is welcome news to the barge lines, it did cause serious delays in planting row crops in the unprotected river bottom land north and south of Cape Girardeau. Thanks to dry weather last week and a lower river level, most farmers who work the river bottoms were finally able to get their soybeans planted.

The high water level on the Mississippi River continues to delay completion of the final portion of the Illinois Route 3 highway relocation project between Gale and Thebes.

Bob Zieba, district highway engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation at Carbondale, said the highway is complete, except for a small strip that will tie the new highway into the existing Route 3 at the agricultural levee north of Gale.

But Zieba said the final construction work cannot start until the Corps of Engineers gives permission to cut the levee near Gale. Zieba said that won't happen until the Corps of Engineers is reasonably sure the threat of flooding on the Mississippi River is past.

Based on current estimates, Zieba said, the construction work will probably not begin until mid-July at the earliest.