Monday's rain led to a slew of accidents: 23 noninjury and five minor-injury accidents were reported in Douglas County.
Mother Nature erased any doubts that summer is over with a chilling rainfall and a cold front that brought a 23-degree drop in high temperatures from Sunday to Monday.
And it's likely to get colder before it gets warmer, according to the National Weather Service.
Bill Barlow, a NWS forecaster in Topeka, said lows in the upper 30s were expected overnight tonight. A frost advisory wasn't likely, he said, but one may be issued by next week.
Monday's chilly and rainy weather, Barlow said, was expected to continue through today, followed by a gradual warming trend before a new system comes through the area this weekend.
Officially, Lawrence received 2.35 inches between midnight Sunday and 9 p.m. Monday, the NWS said.
There were no reports of flooding problems in either the city or the county, authorities said.
But the rain led to a slew of accidents: 23 noninjury and five injury accidents were reported Monday in the city and county, authorities said. None of the injuries was serious.
Lightning from the storms also set off several fire alarms.
Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical crews cut off gas to a meter after it was struck by lightning about 9 p.m. Monday at a residence at 3401 W. 24th Pl. There was no damage to the home, authorities said.
The high Sunday was a pleasant 78; Monday's high was a damp and chilly 55.
As on Monday, today's forecast calls for high temperatures in the mid-50s with rain.
Barlow said that after today the clouds and rain would move on. Highs were expected to be in the 60s on Wednesday and 70s on Thursday and Friday.
The average high for today is 76 and the average low is 51, he said. That means high temperatures today are expected to be about 20 degrees below normal and low temperatures were to be about 15 degrees below normal, Barlow said.
A pattern of shifting air masses -- in which a cold front is followed by a gradual warming trend and then another cold front -- will be the norm, Barlow said.
"The next system should probably come in sometime this weekend, cooling down the area again," Barlow said.
The shift in air masses could lead to severe weather through October, he said, much like last year when an Oct. 4 tornado tore the roof off a home south of Clinton Lake.
-- Michael Dekker's phone message number is 832-7187. His e-mail address is mdekker@ljworld.com.
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