Fall is less than a week away, but you couldn't tell by the weather.
Lincoln hit 93 degrees Monday, marking the second straight 90-degree day and the sixth this month. Tuesday's forecast also calls for a high in the 90s, and temperatures are expected to stay well above normal at least through Friday.
In fact, it looks like temperatures could stay above normal for most of the rest of the month.
"Summer has been extended until the end of the month," University of Nebraska-Lincoln climatologist Ken Dewey said in a Tweet on Monday morning, accompanying a chart showing a forecast for above-average temperatures on all but two of the remaining 15 days in September.
The National Weather Service's Omaha office echoed that view, tweeting Sunday: "Don't put the A/C unit in the shed until the Halloween candy has been picked over."
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The city of Lincoln's Aging Partners also reminded residents Monday that free electric fans are available to qualifying older adults at the Aging Partners office, 1005 O St.
Brett Albright, a meteorologist with the weather service, said Monday that the September heat has been caused by a persistent strong ridge of high pressure to the south of the area.
"It's just stretching far enough north that it's kept us in a range above average," Albright said.
The high-pressure ridge is also why the Lincoln area has seen below-average precipitation recently, he said.
As of Monday, Lincoln has officially received only 0.19 of an inch of rain this month. Since Aug. 16, the city has received just more than an inch of rain, which is more than 2 inches below normal for the period.
There are some decent chances for rain both Wednesday and Thursday, with smaller chances continuing into the weekend.
The storms are expected to cool temperatures down to around 80 by the weekend, where they are expected to stay into next week.
"You know you're in a warm pattern when a storm comes through and it only gets you back to normal," Albright said.
What, if anything, does the warm September mean for fall and winter?
"It probably doesn't mean a whole lot," he said.
The weather service's 30-day outlook predicts a better-than-average chance of below-normal temperatures in October, but a higher-than-average chance of above-average temperatures for the October-December period.