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Sandals out, umbrellas in Photo by Jim Craven A maple leaf sticks to the rain-spattered trunk of a gold Honda Accord in a downtown Medford alley Tuesday. Weather forecasters say the long-awaited moisture heralds the end of warm weather for this year. More showers are predicted today. Rain brings end to summery weather By JIM DAVIS Like a fever, a long dry spell broke for the Rogue Valley Tuesday, and the unusually warm days are probably gone until next spring. Nearly a half inch of rain -- 0.47 inches -- fell at the Medford airport starting at 4:36 a.m. Tuesday, ushering in fall weather in all its soggy glory. "This will be enough to end our warm days," said Roger Gerig of the National Weather Service. "We won't reach the 80s again (this fall.)" With those 80-degree days in the past couple of weeks, the Rogue Valley had been experiencing some of the warmest temperatures for this time of year in more than a decade. The valley also saw an unusually dry spell for the past couple of months. The rain ended that Tuesday, cooling the ground and readying us for winter, Gerig said. The sun may finally have come out late Tuesday afternoon, but the umbrellas and jackets need to stay out: More showers are expected today and Thursday, Gerig said. It's been nearly two months since Rogue Valley residents saw this much rain. The last time the National Weather Service recorded any rain was a sprinkle on Oct. 5 and 6 when 0.13 inches of rain fell. Before that, weather watchers have to go back to Aug. 30, when 0.43 inches of rain was recorded, Gerig said. That's nearly two dry months in a state famed for webbed feet and liquid sunshine. In October, the Rogue Valley has received 0.60 inches of rain, most of it falling on Tuesday. That's about 0.52 inches below the normal rainfall of 1.12 inches. For the calendar year, however, the Rogue Valley is still cruising along just about normal. The valley has received 12.08 inches of rain, about 0.2 inches above the normal 11.88 inches. Gerig said the year has brought several exceptionally wet months and several exceptionally dry ones. Tuesday's warmest temperature -- 60 degrees -- was recorded at 2:22 a.m. The temperature fell as the rains came. Also falling were the snow levels. The snow level went from 9,000 feet at 5 a.m. Tuesday and is expected to drop to 4,000 feet in the next couple of days, Gerig said. "Well, the warm weather is ended," Gerig said. " We're going to launch into our fall." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA