Unofficial start of summer will feel like October

If you want some privacy this weekend, a walk on the beach might be a good bet.

The normal high in Atlantic City for an Oct. 11 is 68, and that happens to be the forecast high for the Queen of Resorts for both Saturday and Sunday. Monday it should warm up to 69.

What's more, a stiff wind from the northwest, up to 20 m.p.h., will be sending the sands dancing on Saturday, but at least it will be dry.

With the winds coming from the North Country, as one might expect the forecast is similar for the mainland.

Whether this is an indication of what's to come is impossible to say.

The government's Climate Prediction Center says the odds favor above-normal temperatures in the region during the June 1-Aug. 31 period, which is the meteorological summer.

However, the consensus among three major commercial services is that the summer of 2013 will not resemble the blistering seasons of the last few years.

The Commodity Weather Group, in Washington, released an outlook yesterday that sees a likelihood of near-normal temperatures around here.

WSI Corp., in Massachusetts, believes the worst of the heat will be confined to the West, where drought conditions are widespread.

WSI says temperatures may average a tad above normal in the Northeast, but won't come near the levels of the last few years.

Accu-Weather has weighed in with a similar outlook.

A summer of temperatures only modestly above normal would qualify as refreshing.

Three of the last four summers have finished in the top 5 for overall heat in Philadelphia.