From the category archives:

Weather

January Thaw: A Video

January 25, 2010

What happens when the snow melts in the middle of winter? I made a brief video to show you:

Some roads and a few low bridges have flooded, forcing early school closings and rerouting traffic.
A thaw in January is common, but rain doesn’t always accompany it. Sometimes it is brilliantly sunny, inspiring snowball fights in shirt [...]

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Why Is This Winter So Cold?

January 10, 2010

Yesterday, the low here was 8F (-13C). That’s not too surprising. But Dee Nash of Red Dirt Ramblings told me her low that same day was 5F (-15C) in Oklahoma. Whoa! What’s going on here? Check out Eric Berger’s explanation in the Houston Chronicle. It turns out a lot of factors have contributed to the [...]

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Snowfall Records

December 16, 2009

In the spirit of cold climate one-upmanship, let me direct your attention to the Snowfall Averages compiled by the National Climatic Data Center. (Sorry, I don’t have Canadian data handy.) Unless your yearly snowfall is in the triple digits, you might as well give up on bragging rights. But you can get a good idea [...]

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First Snow of 2009-2010

October 16, 2009

Last night it snowed. That, in itself, is not unusual for the second half of October. But normally we get flurries mixed with rain, and no accumulation. Yesterday a weather record for snow accumulation was broken. The official new record is 1.2 inches accumulation. The old record was “trace.” And unofficial reports coming in tell [...]

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Snow? Noooo!

October 12, 2009

Yikes! Snow predicted for Friday! This is happening too fast for me. Just had first hard frost (26F) last night.

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What’s the Difference Between a Frost and a Freeze?

October 11, 2009

Last night the National Weather Service issued a frost advisory for our area, and we did indeed get a frost. They are issuing a freeze warning for tonight. What’s the difference?

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Light First Frost of Autumn 2009

September 19, 2009

I saw frost in shady lawn this a.m., but coleus, cosmos, dahlias all look fine. Just that one spot, I guess.

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Gorgeous Autumn Day

August 27, 2009

Today is a gorgeous autumn day. Yes, autumn.

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More rain last night

August 10, 2009

3 inches of rain in last 24hrs. Bet the late blight loved that. Humid & hot today-does it like heat?
Update
The same day I wrote this, another 1.3 inches of rain fell late in the afternoon. That makes 4.3 inches in 48 hours. We often don’t get that much in a whole month, especially in the [...]

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Rain Plus Warmth Equals Weeds

June 21, 2009

In the past 4 days have gotten almost 3in rain. Now it’s supposed to warm up. I see weeds in my future. Weeds and blooms.

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What Happens to Plants After an Untimely Freeze Part 2

June 1, 2009

In Part 1 I mentioned the two hard frosts and a freeze we had recently, all of them rather later in the season than is typical. I illustrated how different species in the same genus reacted to the freeze differently, and also gave examples of plants that were damaged even though they were protected.
Appearances Can [...]

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What happens to plants after an untimely freeze? Part 1

May 27, 2009

Part of what makes my cold climate garden cold is the fact that we live in the bottom of a valley, and cold air flows downhill and settles all around us. So however cold the weatherman predicts it will get, it’s usually colder here. Often, ten degrees colder. For example, on May 12th, when a [...]

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