June begins and brings back the 80s

This Friday morning dawned rather cool around Mecklenburg county. Low temperatures of 51, 52, 49, and 55 were recorded respectively at South Hill, Boydton, Chase City, and Clarksville. A northerly breeze overnight stirred the surface air sufficiently that these readings were several degrees warmer than they might have been otherwise. For comparison Danville dropped to 46 degrees while Halifax bottomed out at 44; both locations had little or no wind for several hours before sunrise. 

This cool-down process during the overnight hours is known as radiational cooling. The factors involved are shown in this graphic (note: snow cover isn't very likely this time of year in Mecklenburg!):

Skies today will remain clear as high pressure remains parked atop the Mid-Atlantic states. Afternoon highs will top out in the mid-70s, several degrees below average for the end of May. Winds will be out of the north until after sunset, when they will swing around from the south as that high pressure moves off the coast. Saturday morning looks to again bring cool temperatures before a warmup back into the low 80s begins under sunny skies.

Sunday will continue to be dry but with increasing clouds as another low pressure system approaches from the Ohio valley. Temperatures will again top out in the low 80s, with only a small chance of light showers arriving late Sunday afternoon. Scattered showers and thunderstorms look to be more likely Sunday night.

I've heard references to Memorial Day as the beginning of "cultural summer" in the U.S. Meanwhile, as of Saturday - June 1st - welcome to meteorological summer!