DATE: Saturday, September 20, 1997          TAG: 9709200336

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   31 lines

THERE'S A BIT OF AUTUMN APPROACHING THIS AREA

Usually, seasons change with little apparent difference between one day and the next. But folks in Hampton Roads should have little doubt this weekend that summer is fading into fall.

Today will have the look and feel of midsummer, with sunny skies and temperatures topping out around 90 - and depending on just how humid it gets, it could feel even hotter. By Monday, however, it will be noticeably cooler as the mercury dips to around 50.

In between, there could be some nasty weather tonight or early Sunday as a cold front ahead of a large area of high pressure approaches.

Fall begins at 7:56 p.m. Monday.

Here is the Hampton Roads forecast:

Today - Mostly sunny and hot, with a high around 90 and southwest winds increasing to 15 to 20 mph.

Tonight - Variable cloudiness with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, ending toward dawn. It will become windy, with southwest winds of 15 mph shifting to northerly at 20 mph and gusty. The low should be in the mid- to upper 60s.

Sunday - Some morning cloudiness, then partly sunny, windy and cool with a high in the lower 70s and a low in the 60s.

Monday - Partly cloudy and cool, with a high in the 60s to near 70 and a low in the 50s.

Tuesday - Mostly sunny with a high around 70 and a low of 50 to 55.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu