Chilly weather to continue through official kickoff of Manatee County 'Fair of the Century'

MANATEE -- It's no surprise to Betty Glassburn that this week's chills will continue into the 2016 Manatee County Fair, which begins Thursday.

"I'm telling you, it's always wet and it's always cold during Fair Week," the 70-year-old Duette resident told the Herald Tuesday night. "Do you realize that, nationally, this is the coldest week in America?"

According to the National Weather Service, the forecast for the rest of the week in the Bradenton-Sarasota area will remain cold.

"Tomorrow will be kind of similar to what we saw today, afternoon highs generally in the mid 60s with mostly clear skies," said National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew McKaughan Tuesday night. "Thursday morning will be probably about 10 degrees warmer than tomorrow morning, generally probably upper 40 to 50s across the area. Afternoon highs will be right around 70s or so and we'll gradually get some more cloud cover as we progress through the day on Thursday."

According to the meteorologist, the atmosphere in the Bradenton-Sarasota area on Thursday will moisten up a bit and by the time when the Manatee County Fair officially kicks off, people should expect temperatures in the 60s.

"Friday afternoon, we're expecting high temperatures in the middle 70s," McKaughan said. "We do have increasing rain chances beginning late Thursday and into Friday. It's important, for later on this week, to keep an eye on the weather and the potential for stronger thunderstorms. Pay attention to any sort of statements that may be used by the National Weather Service."

For Dan West, manager of the Manatee County Fair, the chances of rain later this week doesn't bother him.

"We don't open till 5 Friday afternoon, so that's a good thing," he said. "So if it can come early, that'll be great."

West, who said he's always concerned about the forecast but focuses on the timing, said weather through the span of the Manatee County Fair is usually chilly and rainy. Off the top of his head, the fair manager listed 2002, 2006, 2012 as the years with "impeccable weather" around the time of the county fair.

"For the most part, when it starts to get cold, anyone around town will say 'The fair must be here,'" West said with a laugh.

This year's fair, "Fair of the Century," marks 100 years since the first Manatee County Fair was held in 1916. The event, which ends Jan. 24, will feature more than 50 rides and more than 500 livestock and new events such as a pie-eating contest, corndog-eating contest and hog-calling contest.

Despite the weather, West sounded optimistic and said "we must take what comes our way."

"Along with that cool weather, the corndogs taste better, elephant ears taste better," he pointed out. "Everything in the fair tastes better with a little bit of cool weather."

Looking further into Saturday, McKaughan said local residents should expect high temperatures to be in the lower to mid-70s and by Saturday night, mid to upper 50s for low temperatures.

"We'll start to get some of that cooler air in on Sunday, with highs only topping out in mid 60s," he added. "Early next week will be what we've been seeing this week. It looks like we'll be stuck in this type of pattern, at least for a little while."

Amaris Castillo, law enforcement/island reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7051. Follow her on Twitter@AmarisCastillo.

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 10:13 PM with the headline "Chilly weather to continue through official kickoff of Manatee County 'Fair of the Century' ."