Rain, cooler temperatures signal fall is near

The rain and cooler temperatures that have visited Southeast Missouri in the last few days provided welcome relief from the heat and humidity that made being outdoors so uncomfortable for much of August. Of course, not everyone was happy that plans for the long Labor Day weekend were disrupted by rain. But the moisture was a relief.

That's particularly true across most of Missouri and into other nearby states where drought has been persistent for months. Heavy rainfalls in Kansas, for example, were both a blessing and a curse. Heavy downpours were welcome on parched fields, but flash floods took several lives on the Kansas Turnpike.

In Cape Girardeau, the rains that began last Friday and ended Wednesday brought a total of 10.67 inches to local rain gauges. For some, that much rain in just six days might have been regarded as getting too much of what we had been praying for.

Despite Augusts heat and humidity, Southeast Missouri has escaped the drought conditions to the west. For that we can be grateful. But after six days of clouds and rain, the cooler, drier temperatures -- accompanied by a good does of sunshine -- are truly welcome.