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Don�t let that snow fool you Temp is expected to climb back into 80s this week By Wendy Siporen Sun, rain, thundershowers and even a little snow. Southern Oregon had it all over the holiday weekend. While most Rogue Valley residents were bemoaning the symbolic end of summer � a double whammy of cold rainy weather and the start of school � a few diehard skiers welcomed the colder weather with a pilgrimage to Mount Ashland. Mother Nature responded in kind with a half-inch dusting of snow at the peak. "We�re pretty much snow worshipers," said Ashland resident Scott Young, who decided to make the trip after seeing snow on Mount McLoughlin. "It�s been a nice summer, but I�m pretty much ready for ski season." Young and two of his friends reported fog, wind and ice pellets mixed with snow at 11 p.m. Sunday. His car thermometer read 34 degrees. "I wouldn�t say it�s really unusual," National Weather Service specialist Roger Gerig said of the weekend snow. "The unstable air associated with thundershowers tends to bring snow levels down." Weather balloon data confirmed that snow levels fell to around 5,000 feet in some areas Monday. But Gerig remembers one Fourth of July in the late 1980s when eight inches of snow fell on Crater Lake. "That was unusual," he said. "The problem is RVs aren�t made to have that much snow on them. They had to start sending people out of the park." While far short of the record, 2 inches of snow fell at Crater Lake overnight Saturday. There were also isolated reports of small hail in the region. But those anxious for fall shouldn�t hold their breath. The National Weather Service predicts that warmer, drier weather is on its way back with temperatures reaching the mid-70s today, rising to the mid- to upper 80s by Thursday. Gardeners should be happy to hear that there�s still a chance for those green tomatoes to ripen. Gerig said the valley doesn�t normally experience a frost until October. "Just as a rule of thumb, anytime we don�t reach 70 (degrees) during day and then we have a clear night, that�s when you should look out for frost," he said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA