File photo. Sunday was a great day to hit the links!
Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesDid you leave your windows open today? For the first time in months, fresh air circulated through homes all over Tampa Bay. Many took advantage of the weather and got outside. Temperatures were in the 60s during the morning and stayed in the 70s all afternoon.
The big question many of us have ... do we get to keep this awesome fall-like weather? Or was this a one-day gift? We hit up our friends at ABC Action News to see if cool temps could stick around this coming week.
Good news and bad news
The cool spell won't last long. However, you will have one more day to enjoy the rare early season cool off. Temperatures Monday morning will be in the 60s again. But it looks like high temps will climb back into the low 80s in the afternoon. The day should stay dry. Rain chances are only 2%.
More changes (for the worse) will come midweek when temperatures will be back in the mid 80s. Precipitation chances will go up too, especially on Wednesday and Thursday.
There's a meme that makes the rounds on social media every year right around this time. It shows a bunch of license plates of various colors from snowbirds invading Florida. The colorful license plates are Florida's version of fall foliage.
Where is a Floridian to go to see the best fall colors? Being a guy from Maine, I'm pretty biased on the topic. You can't go wrong anywhere in Northern New England if you visit in October. The foliage in Vermont's mountains are probably my favorite sight to see. But even as far south as Boston, it gets pretty beautiful this time of year. And then it's an ugly muddy mess once the leaves have all fallen and winter begins.
Here are some various shots of mine and from photographers around the world to inspire your travel searches. But hurry, the window of opportunity is really only here for the next few weeks. Once November rolls in, you've pretty much missed out.
Boston
A mid October trip to Boston will be perfectly timed. This is one of my favorite photos I've ever taken. Rent a bike at one of the hundreds of stations around the city and see it all. Be sure to include a ride along the Charles River on the Cambridge side for the best views of the city.
West Virginia
I didn't visit during the peak of their foliage season so you don't see a lot of color here, but it was a great trip. Rent a bike and ride through the mountains. So many great trails.
Vermont Drive
I took this one on a drive from Boston to Montreal. If you can plan a trip this time of year, do that drive. It's beautiful. But in the winter it can be treacherous with cold, ice and snow.
A moose!
Plus on the Vermont mountain drives, you may spot a few moose along the way.
Westbrook, Maine
A pic I took on a visit to my childhood home in Westbrook, Maine just outside Portland.
Boston
Boston peaks later since they're further south. But mid to late October, you'll see lots of color.
Scotland
(Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images for Red Bull)Lochan Reoidhte on October 25, 2016 in Aberfoyle,Scotland.
Autumn Colours Arrive In The UK
(Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)Leaves on trees can be seen changing colour in the grounds of Westonbirt Arboretum near Tetbury, on November 1 2007 in Gloucestershire, England.
England
(Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)The grounds of Gatcombe Park, the private residence of Princess Anne, Princess Royal in Gloucestershire, England.
Washington DC
(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)Trees near full bloom near the Washington Monument on the National Mall on October 18, 2012 in Washington, DC. Foliage in the Washington area was almost at full peak with temperatures in the low 70's.
Japan
Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty ImagesA woman walks with her pet dogs at walking path under colors changed maple trees in Kyoto, Japan.
New York
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)eople enjoy Brooklyn's Prospect Park as trees near their peak autumn foliage on October 27, 2022 in New York City. New York's foliage, especially trees upstate, are reaching their full fall colors in the coming days.
UK
(Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)Sunlight illuminates trees with leaves that are beginning to change colour besides the lake at Stourhead on October 13, 2009 near Warminster, England.
New York
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)People enjoy Brooklyn's Prospect Park.
Japan
Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty ImagesAutumn colours begin to show on trees on November 22, 2014 in Kyoto, Japan.
Knutsford, England
(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)A leaf from an Acer tree turns a warm autumnal red at The National Trust's Tatton Park in Knutsford, England.
Europe
(Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)The National Arboretum at Westonbirt on October 22, 2005 in Gloucestershire in England. Another great spot in Europe is to take a train ride from Cologne to Munich Germany.
London
(Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)A child runs through fallen leaves in Hyde Park.
