Though Kayleigh Sparrow was not much taller than the nearly 40 ducks that surrounded her at Oxford Lake on Monday afternoon, she appeared calm. With bread in hand, the 18-month-old managed the hungry gang of waterfowl with ease.

“This isn’t her first time,” Kayleigh’s mother, Jacklin Sparrow, said with a smile.

The Sparrows of Jacksonville visited Oxford Lake Monday to take advantage of the unseasonably cool and clear weather, which the National Weather Service predicts will last the rest of the week.

According to the weather service’s Birmingham office, temperatures peaked at a pleasant 82 degrees on a mostly sunny Monday in Anniston. Aaron Gleason, a meteorologist with the weather service, said residents can expect similar conditions for the rest of the week.

“Highs will be below normal … temperatures will be in the low- to mid-80s through Friday,” Gleason said. “Even by Saturday, we’re not expecting much of a change.”

Indeed, as of 4 p.m. Monday, the highest temperature predicted in Anniston for the week was 84 degrees on Friday. Also, the weather service predicts lows to stay between the mid- and upper-50s through the week.

And besides the mild temperatures, there should be little to no rain for the week – a far cry from the wet, hot, muggy weather the area had last week.

“We had a lot of tropical moisture in place thanks to Hurricane Isaac,” Gleason said of last week’s weather. “It brought in a warm, tropical air mass that gave us numerous rainstorms in Alabama, it seemed like every day.”

Gleason noted, however, that it was the same tropical air mass that is responsible for the current mild weather.

“That pretty much washed out all of the moisture, so it feels really nice out,” Gleason said.

Sparrow said she and her family enjoy visiting Oxford Lake, particularly on nice days like Monday. Before feeding the ducks, her daughter had spent more than an hour enjoying the park’s playground.

“It’s the nicest park in Calhoun County,” Sparrow said.

Robert Valdesere of Anniston also stopped by Oxford Lake Monday because of the weather change.

“Yeah, it’s nice out and I was not working today,” Valdesere said.

Valdesere was there with his stepdaughter’s boyfriend and five fishing reels Monday, trying to catch carp in the lake. Though Valdesere was not having much luck Monday afternoon, he had managed to catch a fish that morning using a mixture of corn and cornmeal as bait.

“Not 10 minutes after we got here, we caught a 15 to 16-pound carp,” Valdesere said as he grabbed another handful of his sticky corn concoction to place on his hook.

Gleason said that while this week should remain pleasant, the rest of September will possibly be a little warmer than normal.

“There will be about a 33 percent chance of higher temperatures for the month of September,” he said.

Staff writer Patrick McCreless: 256-235-3531. On Twitter @PMcCreless_Star. Editor's note: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect name for Jacklin Sparrow.