As many of you know by now, I'm a Kansas girl (very proud of my "Wu Shock" status). Every night my family and I would watch the news and of course pay close attention to the weather report. One of our favorites was Jim O'Donnell - he worked at our ABC sister station in Wichita from 1969 to his retirement in 1995. I was saddened to hear that Jim passed away earlier this week. This is a tremendous loss for his viewers and the weather community.

I never had a chance to meet him, but I have some good memories! He was always calm and personable. He didn't scare you to death when a tornado was approaching! I think the chimes the station used (they sounded like cowbells) to announce a tornado warning was the scariest as a young girl. I knew I could trust him. If he said go to the basement, I went. If he said the coast was clear, I knew I could go outside and play.

It's amazing how the people you watch growing up can have an impact on your life. I'm thankful for everything Jim taught me through the television. He has helped to inspire many meteorologists over the years...me included.

More than a week into the month of September and today definitely felt like it! Today I'm filling in for the vacationing Bryan Busby and the high was only 72 degrees.

Now, for the last 2 weeks while Joel was in Ireland, I filled in for him. And that 72 degree temperature is what I've been waking folks up to around here. Definitely some cooler air moving in tonight!

After examining the latest satellite imagery and current temperatures, I decided to lower the overnight low a few more degrees after my 6pm weather broadcast. So, overnight I have KCI dipping to 49. You know what? It hasn't been this chilly around here since May 19!

You're probably asking yourself...is this it for the heat? It just might be. Of course by writing this I'm probably sealing my fate for another stretch of 90-degree plus days. However, there are a few factors working against us this time of year. One of which is the sun angle - not as direct as it was earlier this summer. That's starting the cooling trend across the northern hemisphere. Days are getting shorter and that means once the sun is up, it doesn't have enough time to heat the atmosphere.

The latest look at the computer models suggests minor tugs back and forth between warm and cool air over the next week. But, nothing that indicates a 90-degree day. With time marching forward to the official start of fall...looks like we need to dig out the jackets and blankets now. Be prepared, however, to toss them aside for a day or two. The tug-of-war competition is an ongoing battle during September - and we know which side will win. The cool side!