Cooler air this weekend could be Tampa Bay’s first taste of fall

A cold front that is expected to sag into the Tampa Bay area this weekend will drop temperatures and lower humidity, signaling the first days of fall-like weather for the area.

While it’s not quite time to dust off the knits, the weather will be a chance to open a window or walk outside without upper lip sweat.

Most of the week will remain in the upper 80s during the day, and sink to the low 70s at night, but a brush of colder air on Sunday will usher in cooler temperatures.

Sunday’s lows are expected to be in the mid-60s in coastal areas and the low 60s in more inland parts of Tampa Bay. Daytime temperatures will top out around 80 degrees.

Jennifer Hubbard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office, said to expect lower humidity and drier, more comfortable air. Forecasters do not anticipate rain for the rest of the week.

This weekend will mark the first time since May that low temperatures in Tampa have dipped under 70 degrees, according to the weather service.

“There is a cold front that is expected to push through; how far it pushes southward is still very questionable,” Hubbard said. “But we do have a little bit of a relief in the temperatures coming.”

In addition to the cooler temperatures, the cold front will also help push out hazy air from Canadian wildfires that has blanketed Tampa Bay the past few days.

Sept. 1 was the meteorological first day of fall. For other states across the country, that means changing leaves and cooler air. But Tampa Bay often doesn’t see a cool down until weeks later.

October is a transitional weather month, Hubbard said. It’s often around the time when cold fronts begin to push farther south and actually reach Tampa Bay. While the cooler temperatures are a welcome change from the sticky summer air, these early cold fronts rarely last long, Hubbard said. Within a day or two, warmer and muggier air tends to bounce back.

Forecasters expect Monday will be similar to Sunday, with highs in the low 80s and overnight temperatures in the mid-60s. By Tuesday, temperatures start to creep up again.