Weather Check In 2026

There's nothing interesting happening here weatherwise, thankfully, but it was definitely time to start a new thread!

Cold and partly cloudy here. Might get snow showers later today. Nothing drastic, just normal January slightly above the 45th parallel.

It's cold here this Sunday morning. Maybe not as cold as it might be (we're only just above freezing at quarter past eleven in the morning) but it's a very dry cold. They keep promising us that it'll warm up later in the week (like from Wednesday on...)

>3 jillmwo: I saw 55° F with rain in the extended forecast for the weekend! It will be nice to get a little moisture in the air inside my house. I'm running a humidifier just about every day.

In December Edmonton got 416% more snow than our 30-year average!

-15C today, but sunny so a great day for getting outside to shovel the snow we got yesterday. It's possible January's snowfall will also be above average. As long as it doesn't all melt too quickly, this is awesome. We've had several years of drought or near-drought and we need as much as possible of this to soak into the ground.

We're enjoying an early January thaw. Today reached 53°F (just under 12°C), and it’s been sunny with little wind. All my backyard critters were full of activity.

For now, all the snow is gone. It will be even warmer tomorrow but rainy.

After that, the temperatures will be back to normal but as long as it stays dry for a bit (read: no snow!) I'm okay with it.

A cruel taunt of spring which is still several weeks away.

Storm Goretti is causing havoc across Britain today, although not in SE England where I live. But @Reading_fox and @AHS-Wolfy may be feeling its effects somewhat.

>7 Sakerfalcon: - no nothing in Manchester. Dullest day of the year so far, no rain, no wind, no snow, no ice. Just grey cloud.

Has messed up my weekend plans to go caving in S Wales where there is plenty of snow and disruption.

Nothing for me either. Just the usual grey and miserable.

Sympathy to British Dragoneers with Storm Goretti!

Here we're bracing for thunderstorms. A tropical cyclone is colliding with a massive cold front over the Kruger Park right now, and floods are expected. In fact, last night DD showed us a Facebook picture of a street we often used in Pretoria, completely flooded. And Better Half's brother, who lives in the Western Cape, is coping with wildfires.

Here in my portion of the North American continent, we've got steady soaking rain. Basically grey and dreary. Stay safe, the rest of you!

>11 jillmwo: Send some over here please: temp now is 26.6°C (79.9°F), but "feels like" 31.3°C (88.3°F). Some possibility of rain tonight.

ETA: Stay safe, Hugh!

>12 haydninvienna: so far just 100% overcast here, with the occasional light shower. But a friend near Nelspruit (Mbombela) sent an email last night including the sentence "We are sodden". And they seem to be on the fringe. Several times in the last 20-odd years we have visited the picnic site at Pafuri, in the far north of the Kruger Park (just under 1000 km north of here, phew!) and stared in bemusement at a sign in the top of a tall tree, with the message "Flood Level February 2000". DD has just been watching a video from near there; the water level is higher now than it was then. Many places we learned to love seem to have been washed away.

>12 haydninvienna: Good luck to you and all those affected by the flooding and those in Britain too.

Cold and snowy here today, we're expecting 12"-15".

The towns north of Syracuse, at the east end of Lake Ontario, are approaching 100" of snow for the season.

>13 hfglen: Good luck and stay safe.

It's been very snowy here since the beginning of January, with temperatures between -4 and -9C (25-16F). The thaw started today, it's between 0C and 2C (32-35F), and there is ice and snow slush everywhere.

Just had a brisk walk to the mailbox, the wind is down and it's a partly cloudy 13F. Snow showers passing through over the next few days.

We are having a mighty wind. 35kph gusting to 67kph. There are windier places, but for us, this is a lot. Next door neighbour's patio umbrella (which he foolishly left open) has gone.

Otherwise, it's a beautiful sunny day and temperatures are around 0C. We've had several days of temperatures above 0 (yesterday was 11C!) which is not great in January. Snow is melting and it's VERY icy. If I go anywhere, I'll need my cleats!

Today we've got a mix of rain and very wet snow. Patrick was still able to run out and pick up bagels for breakfast when it was relatively dry early in the day. But now it's lunchtime and it's this steady "wetness". I suspect there will be growls and mumbling served up with the take-out sandwiches.

Finally got a decent thunderstorm last night, but it didn't cool things down much. More storms promised for today.

ETA (10:49 am): Storm here!

Whew! After this past snowy December, we had a glorious early January thaw - but that's done with.

Snow is back and with it comes the bitter cold. We'll be welcoming our second polar vortex of the season this week. Temps in single digits at night.

The local weather forecasters are telling us to "buckle up and get ready for a good old-fashioned Michigan winter." I'm not exactly certain what all that means but I don’t like being told to buckle up by a meteorologist, lol.

I have 3 suet feeders around the yard in addition to the tube feeder, and we're keeping the bird bath water fresh. All the critters are using it.

Monday. Apparently a fine morning and Apple Weather promised a fine day. However, the official forecast was for a shower or two. In the shopping centre with Mrs H, I became aware of a noise like heavy rain on a steel roof. (Like many buildings here, the centre has a steel deck roof.) Went and had a look out the door that we had just come in by, and yes indeed it was pelting down.

There's an Australian saying at the start of a shower, "Send 'er down, Hughie!" Nobody knows who Hughie was.

>22 haydninvienna:. Hughie (whoever he was) must have packed a real wallop.

>22 haydninvienna: That's a heavy shower!

Snow again here today. A few minutes ago, looking out the front window, I couldn't see the house across the street. Luckily the snow is incredibly fluffy. We actually went out for a short walk in the snow, since there's no traffic on the streets - though I did see two HVAC repair company trucks right after we came in.

>23 jillmwo: >24 Karlstar: Not as heavy as you might think. We were on the top level and there was nothing but some structure between us and the roof deck. There are many Australians who think that the best sound to go to sleep to is the sound of rain on a tin roof.

I used to have a house with a steel deck roof, but in Canberra, where keeping the heat in is much more important than here. The roof had a couple of inches of glass-fibre insulation right under the steel. Still heard the rain through it.

>25 haydninvienna: Ahh, I see. Tin/metal roofs are making something of a comeback here, but they are still a minority.

>25 haydninvienna: I love the sound of rain on a tin roof. We had a carport that had one and would stand there during rain/thunderstorms.

Up until Friday, we were having quite the Juneuary. It was 65°F here one day last week. Then the freezing fog hit on Friday. It's been in the high 20s and frosty since then. I do love a good coating of hoar frost, though. So pretty!

>26 Karlstar: In Oz, I wouldn't have anything else. Here, roofs are either galvanised steel or tile. Never worked out how come so much of the world thinks roofs made of anything else are a good idea.

I'm in the midwest US, and the anticipated high on Friday is -5F!!

It was 16 this morning when we woke up with a "feels like" temperature of about 8. So >29 skittles: beats us. But this morning's meteorological report opened up with the news that our high on the weekend would be 20 and that there was a possibility of snowfall of approximately 12 inches. That amount is variable because the models are still unsettled.

Enjoying the last couple days of moderately cool weather before this weekend's surge of polar air drops the temps well below freezing through Monday (and beyond, in the evenings.) Preparing the fireplace.

>29 skittles: Good grief!! I'm in SE Michigan and we're being told to expect +5°F for the high and the low -7°F.

Why don't they just say: "Stay indoors, people!!" and call it good? Polar "vortex" is apparently so last year - now it's a polar express coming at us.

>32 terriks:
In the past decade I have come across numerous new meteorological terms that I think were developed more for their attention grabbing appeal than their scientific meaning. "Thunder snow" is the one that springs to mind.

Because it's heading back down to below zero for high temps, husband and I went snowshoeing yesterday -



It was snowing while we were out so it was extra special. We started out on a regular foot path, but then connected to a maze of trails groomed for skiing. Being also x-country skiers, and respectful of the work people put into the trails, we kept nicely to one side. Actually met one of the groomers and thanked him.

Still waiting to see what the weekend storm will do to my area. Will I be working (cause I work for a utility) or will I be home reading and sipping warm tea. No clue.
They can't decide between sleet and snow, how much we'll get, or if it will just rain.

>34 Bookmarque: Great scene.

>36 Karlstar: Thanks - it's a gorgeous section of woods that is called The Enchanted Forest (we even have signs to prove it, lol). In summer it has about a million species of mushrooms so I hardly ever get past it. What I don't photograph, I pick and eat. Great spot for both. Once I was right on the edge of the path down on the ground with the tripod when a group of horse riders came by. Oh don't mind me, I'm just down here with the shrooms.

But it's 25 below 0 F right now so it will be a bit before I can get back out and not have my nose hair freeze.

>37 Bookmarque:. 25 below...jeeze louise. You are a brave and hardy woman. I stand in awe of both your talent and your resilience.

This storm is going to be a whopper on the East Coast. The models appear to have shifted yet again. Less snow (still around a foot) but more sleet and freezing rain just before we go into a week of temps not above 20 degrees Farenheit.

Things are going to come to a halt. Trains will freeze in their tracks. Even very BIG furry animals will refuse to go outside for ANY reason. I will bake throughout the course of the storm, just to have a reason to keep the oven on in the kitchen.

I hope all of you in the path of the storm stay safe and have plenty of good books, food, and other essential supplies to see you through.

I'm not in the path of the storm, just the cold.
9:30am and the temp is -15F with a windchill of -38F.

I'm staying inside with hot cocoa and my e-reader!! (and laundry)

Looks as if it will be colder still tonight so maybe we'll hit 30 below. That's about as cold as I've experienced. It was in far northern NH and the LCD panels in the car froze and the gear oil was like wet cement (we had a 5-speed Subaru at the time and it started!). Once when we were parked at the Central Wisconsin Airport, the hydraulic suspension in the Audi froze all the way down. It was a slow and uncomfortable ride home. A couple hours in the garage (which is heated to about 40-45 degrees) it thawed and everything was ok. When we first looked at this house, we thought, a heated garage, how decadent. Now we know better. It's a necessity. Like block heaters up here.

It is funny, people keep telling me to be safe. Like uh, cold won't kill you unless you're unlucky or stupid. We just stay in where it's nice and if we had to go out (we don't), we'd be smart about it.

Holy cow! Those are some cold temps! Our highs have been in the 20s (F) lately, but not single digits or negatives. We have been having freezing frog, which I love because it's eerie and pretty.

Stay warm, North America peeps!

Weekend is looking to be 20sF to single digits overnight.
Snow starts Saturday late (2 am ish) and we go until it shifts to either sleet or freezing rain.

No one knows final potentials, because the storm keeps slipping apparently.
Right now, Anywhere from 4 to 15 inches of snow.
And anywhere from 0.1 to 1.5 inches of ICE coating. With a potential storm tracking behind it three days later.

(Oh, and my day job is at the local electric utility in the office, so who knows what my task will be this weekend.)

Here in metro Atlanta. They’re projecting ice, .5 to 1 inch, starting Sat eve into Sun. I’m south, and it looks like NE GA will get the worst of it. Temps will be freezing at night (20s) but with a high between the mid 30s to low 40s during the day through next Wed. We have a wooded property so trees falling on power line are always a concern. However, I’m tired of fear mongering about this storm. Local news has been creating a panic since Monday, and stores are selling out of basic food. My daughter is swinging by tonight to grab a loaf of bread because stores in her area are sold out. I’m old enough to remember how my silent gen grandparents lived on a farm with no electricity and no indoor toilet.

>43 gilroy: oh! Good luck with your day job, I hope it doesn't involve talking to a panicked local population with no power!

We hit 7°F this afternoon, and it’s been a clear, sunny day - perfect for feeling the bottom drop out tonight!

Poor kitties, they're being deceived by the warmth of the sun in the sunroom. Bex demanded to be let out. I didn't even want to open the door since it was so cozy, but I finally gave in. She actually stepped outside and stayed out for about 3 minutes before calling it. Trying to be a tough Michigan girl! She's not likely to cry at the door again, at least.

Stay safe, everyone!

To all eastern US-ians: best of luck. we have heatwave warnings here. Please share.

I've got a bit of whiplash. It was 50°F here yesterday and it's going down to 10° tonight. Like most of the US (they said 200 M people will be impacted by this beastie) it looks like the next week or so is going to be pretty grim. Not only are we going to get close to a about a foot snow* here, I don't think we're going to get above freezing until next weekend. Yes, it might be warmer South of here, but it's still much colder than they're used to.

Best of luck to everyone dealing with this.

*I went out to test my snow blower this afternoon and of course it refused to start. Luckily my nephew said he would stop by in the morning and see if he can get it going.

So my cousin sent a picture of his thermometer in Florida yesterday when it was only 26 below zero and laughed that it was a 100 degree difference between his house and mine. Now it's probably 110 degree difference-

Today’s survival gear: Doggy, coffee, snuggy.

>48 Bookmarque: -26F! You have us beat, I think our low last night was -7F.

>46 haydninvienna: We would be glad to send some of this cold air drifting your way if we could.

>50 Karlstar: Hee hee. -26 was yesterday, today was -35. I blame Canada.

Our feels-like temperature at noon was 2. (The thermometer showed a temperature of 15). Theoretically, the days high will reach 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

After all my bleating about the heat… it was a stinking hot day today and now, at 9 pm, we have a thunderstorm, and is that hail I hear clattering on the roof?

And here, right now it's a pleasant 29°C, but overcast. Though if it were sunny it would be uncomfortably hot.

about 3 inches of snow on the ground, sleet falling, and it's 19 degrees F here

Missouri Ozarks, south of St. Louis--we currently have 12.5 inches and it's still coming down; 9 degrees F, windchill -4. Church was online this morning; we have all the supplies we need: milk, bread, tp, firewood, and a library full of books. I do not plan to leave the house for the foreseeable future. Stay safe and warm everyone.

Our temperature is 14 degrees at the moment. The "feels like" is 1 below. There is still coming down as snow, but the transition to rain is due to begin in the next 90 minutes or so. We have all basic necessities.

But honestly @haydninvienna if I could shove some of this stuff over in your direction, I would do my best. As it is, I have a ancient television mini-series on that is taking place in Africa. Something with Trevor Eve.

At 11:00 AM it is -3*F so getting warmer. At 5:45 AM is was -19*F. No fresh snow. I hope people in the icy areas stay safe. I am in Minnesota.

>56 theretiredlibrarian: >57 jillmwo: I wish you luck and warmth! It is all the way up to 12F today. Snow coming down nicely.

it's lightly snowing here. we're on the northern edge of "The Big Storm" but we're mainly getting lake effect (western side) snow. probably only 2" to 4". temp is only about 12F. we're hunkering down with hot cocoa & books!!

Stay safe everyone!!

>58 mnleona: Oh yikes. I'm so sorry about, well... everything. Sending hugs your way.

Still snowing, all powder so far, but the temperature has crept up and it will change over to freezing rain in a couple of hours, and then at some point overnight it's going to get cold and start snowing again. My birdies have been going absolutely ballistic at my feeders. I will try to share a couple of shots of my Eastern Bluebirds.

I am sending everyone hugs. Stay safe...

The ice down here is so solid that when I walked out the front door to check the condition of my solar panels in the "heat" of the day, I couldn't break it under my feet. The panels, by the way were half clear of ice. The coldest part of this tonight, with temps dipping into the low-to-mid teens.

38℃ at 2 pm.

>33 pgmcc: Oh, thunder snow is weird and beautiful. I've seen it twice in strong winter storms.

Six or seven inches of snow here on Cape Cod, but it's been sleeting for a few hours now on top of it. I am glad I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow.

32°C, feels like 35, at 2 pm; blazing sun. One of the rare days when I'm not enjoying Durban's high humidity.

Our high today will be 26 (which we've already achieved). The overnight low will be 12. They're still asking people to minimize travel. It's okay though. I made brownies, although the suspicious spouse thinks I might have made those more for me than for him....

Note: temps shown are in Fahrenheit.

>64 haydninvienna: Ow, that's hot. Stay cool!

We are all the way up to 15F and it is snowing again. This time it is lake effect, not the big storm.

>69 Karlstar: What was your total accumulation from the storm itself? We have somewhere between 9 and 10 inches with ice on top.

I just came in from blowing, and I measured 10 inches. Luckily one of my neighbors came with a small earthmoving piece of equipment, and did my driveway for me. I only had to blow from the garage up to the house, around the side of the house, from the front door to the street, and then in front of the mailbox. It still took me over an hour. Oh, it's 21°F which felt downright balmy because there was no wind.

I'm done with Winter.

>70 jillmwo: I thought we had about 12" this morning when I was shoveling, but we got a bit more today from the follow-on lake effect storm. Seems like we got off easy compared to what they predicted. It is currently 13F and that's supposed to be about the high temp for the week.

We ended up with about 16", which was then rained upon, compacting the top three or four inches. Much shoveling today before it gets down to about 15 degress F overnight.

Our forecast for today is 43°C or about 109°F in Melbourne, Australia.

>74 bernsad: Ouch. I'll stop complaining about Brisbane then.

>71 clamairy:
My daughter in Ohio went out to blow snow off their drive yesterday*. A neighbour was out using a gas powered blower** and told her to go back inside and that he would do it. That was very kind. My daughter's drive is about 100 feet long and winds up a steep hill.

*Her husband would normally do the snow blowing but is away on a secret mission.

**I think she was trying to describe a flame-thrower.

I am so ticked off. Every time we dig out the top of our driveway, PennDOT comes through with a plow and plows the snow back into that space. (Yes, we live on a Snow Emergency Route.) But how many times can you expect people to F***ING dig out? My husband had cleared the drive way earlier this morning, but PennDOT came through at some point before Patrick was able to get out to the store. Now we have to wait for the removal guy to send us someone.

No. I don't want to build a snowman. Besides, it's great chunks of ice -- not nice fluffy snow.

Well, it's very wet around here. Flooding all over the place. They've closed every road I can take, so I'm housebound. Very unlikely for my property to flood itself, but it does rather limit what I can do. Still, it should drain away just as quickly as it arrived. Hopefully.

Very cold here but getting warmer it is up to 7*F. Last night was only -2*F instead of the -20*F we had a couple of nights.
For those with all the snow and those with no power, I am sending hugs and prayers. Stay safe.

Dublin is suffering from a lot of flooding. It appears to be more widespread than previous floods and has caused a lot of disruption. We are in the middle of a rain storm and it is flooding rivers. There has been a lot of rain recently so the ground is saturated and will not absorb more water and this is making the flooding worse, as you can imagine.

>80 pgmcc: Oh dear... I hope you are doing ok!

>80 pgmcc:. I think it rather rude that no espionage activities suddenly require your presence in the south of France. Or is this the time of year when bad weather cuts back on all such types of covert or clandestine affairs?

>77 jillmwo: Yeah, this storm left fluff underneath and crunchy stuff on top. I try to wait until I'm sure the town plow won't be coming back before I try to clear the mess at the end of my driveway. Luckily someone else took care of it for me this time.

>78 Tane: & >80 pgmcc: Yikes! Hope it drains away quickly.

>81 Alexandra_book_life: Thankfully we are in an area that is not susceptible to flooding. A friend was meeting me yesterday morning. His journey would take him from the far side of Dublin and the normal route would be the M50 motorway that is a ring-road around the city. He could not take it because it was flooded. He diverted into the city and the way he went took him to a road that was beside the Dodder River. The Dodder had broken over its banks and he saw a large truck stuck in the flood ahead of him. He reckoned if the truck got stuck he would get stuck, so tried another route.

He was about forty minutes later than he had intended but he got to our meeting point and we had a great brunch rather than breakfast. :-)

>82 jillmwo: It is the time of year when weather affects every operative. Also, France is not exempted flooding in stormy weather. Going to the South of France no longer guarantees escape from extreme weather. Climate change has really affected the weather patterns in Europe.

>83 clamairy: We are luck, but some areas in Dublin, County Wicklow and County Wexford have been very badly affected. I will try to add some links to videos.

Enniscorthy: https://www.rte.ie/video/id/30395/

>83 clamairy: Well, he was able to get out this morning to the store to pick up the real essentials! But seriously, the plow has put massive mounds of snow and ice spilling over the curb and onto every yard along this block. We got only 9-1/2 inches of snow but some of the piles are actually 3 feet tall.

We tipped the snow removal guy big bucks last night for clearing snow when the wind chill put the temp down to 0 degrees. (Yes, ZERO.)

Funny in what you can get used to. We have had air temps in the -20s and -30s, not wind chill or feels like and now 0 feel downright nice. Am walking to my neighbors in the sun. Luckily it's not that far. Only -12 this am. Fahrenheit.

>86 Bookmarque: I quite agree that we might fall into the idiot - wuss category at our end -- at least, when it comes to winter, temperatures, and frozen precipitation. We really are NOT used to this kind of stuff.

>76 pgmcc: My grand-daughter, when she was visiting recently, pointed out that she had never seen a snow blower, until that weekend.

>77 jillmwo: That stinks, sorry you have to keep repeating that, shoveling that stuff isn't easy. Our city just doesn't bother plowing so I haven't had that problem this week. Tonight the weatherman said the low temps for the area were -4 to 9. I think tomorrow's high is supposed to be 10(F).

>80 pgmcc: Good luck with the flooding, I hope the rain stops soon.

>86 Bookmarque: Now that's chilly!

Sunny and up into the sixties today. When it hit 70 this afternoon, I opened the front door for a while.

I truly do miss a good blizzard now and then, though. This weather is nice, but it's no kind of winter to a gal from the Northeast.

5F today and more snow! Weather forecast says we might hit 20F next week.

It was only -13F this morning, and should get into the mid-teens later and 10 degrees warmer tomorrow. Am planning to get out onto some trails I've never been on before on Saturday. Looks like snow maybe on Sunday, but probably not much in the way of accumulation.

>77 jillmwo: I hate that about city plowing! One year we had a neighbor clear it all out with a small scooper vehicle (is that called a cat?). He was a landscaper so had it in his garage.

>84 pgmcc: That's quite the flood. Those poor people!

Our winter has gone away, such as it was, nothing like the rest of North America is getting. We only got down into the teens. And now back up into the 50s tomorrow.

>84 pgmcc: That's awful! Was anyone hurt?

>88 Karlstar: What???!! They don't plow at all? Ever? I do remember the town plow would just clear one car's width through our neighborhood when we lived in Illinois. Not good.

>94 clamairy:
I have not heard of any injuries thankfully. A lot of stories from people and businesses who have lost a lot. Government is providing funds to those affected.

>94 clamairy: I should have said they didn't bother plowing for this storm, they just waited it out, then complained when they were way behind. They also often choose not to plow when there isn't enough snow, in their opinion. They also don't get to the secondary streets very quickly, at all. A lot of complaints. This used to be something cities around here were good at, not any more.

The local news did a story on a guy in St. Louis, who rented a snowplow with his own money and started plowing out the neighborhood the city hadn't gotten to. When asked how much he charged, he just said a donation was fine but not required. They even interviewed the city guy in charge of plowing (because someone thought he might be breaking the law???), and he just laughed and said he appreciated the help.

>96 Karlstar: That's awful. One of the worst things about them coming late is almost everybody has already done their own driveways, and then they all have to go back out, or find someone, like Jill did, to do the bottom of the driveway.

I had some excitement of the unpleasant kind yesterday. Woke up and it was 60°F (15.5°C) in my house. It was 11°F (-12°C) outside. My oil burner must have given up the ghost around midnight, and I had the mini-split units set to 64°. I tried to start the burner myself four times, and it would not run for more than 20 seconds. So I put in a call and someone arrived around 5:15 p.m. It took him about two and a half hours to get it running properly again. In the meantime I had electric heaters running in the basement bathroom and by the washing machine keep the lines from freezing.

I'm done with Winter. Even my Florida siblings have been experiencing below freezing temperatures!!!

>98 clamairy: Oh, that's so annoying and painful. I've been meaning to suggest to higher powers that spring should come some time in January. Wouldn't that be nice? 😁

We are above freezing for the first time in about 10 days. Snow is melting. Today I did my Meals on Wheels route and bundled up (leggings, jeans, sweater, puffy coat, hat, gloves, scarf, wool socks, boots). By the time I was done, the outer wear was in the backseat of the car. Unfortunately, some of the clients had not cleared their sidewalks or the city had plowed the snow in such a way that I could not deliver to them.

We had been teased with the promise of hitting just above freezing (32°F/0°C) this week, but this has been revised downward, of course. We may be above 32°F by Friday, but that's only to allow for more snow.

>98 clamairy: I'm fairly over winter, as well! It started snowing here the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and we're usually dry until late December/early January. In other words, we've had a whole extra month of the stuff.

I'm glad to hear you're warm again - not a pleasant feeling to wake up and realize the heat is gone.

>98 clamairy: I'm glad they got that taken care of the same day! I had multiple issues back when I had houses with oil furnaces or boilers.

We just bought a place for my daughter and due to bureaucratic delays, the electric was shut off today - and when she called, they said there would be a minimum 24 hour delay to turn it back on! Hopefully the pipes don't freeze overnight, but there's little we can do about it with no electricity.

We have groundhog prognosticators here in Georgia. Yesterday the groundhog in North Georgia did not see his shadow, but the groundhog for the rest of GA did. I think Beauregard Lee (that’s his name) just wanted to sleep in.

My daughter reported that the cold caused the sprinkler system in her apartment building to burst, so she’s dealing with a mess and will be bringing her cat home to stay with me for a while.

>100 theretiredlibrarian: I guess if they are relying on Meals on Wheels, they probably can't get out and clear their own walkways easily.

>101 terriks: I know it looks pretty, but that's about it.

>102 Karlstar: Yikes! Sorry about your daughter's place. I hope the electricity is restored in time. For emergencies I have two small indoor rated propane heaters. But you can't just put those on and leave a place. Someone has to stay and keep an eye on them.

We had a natural gas furnace and separate hot water heater in Illinois. They also crapped out without warning on occasion and the house was only two years old when we moved in.

>103 ludmillalotaria: Oh no!!!

>103 ludmillalotaria: Sorry to hear that, I hope it is cleaned up soon.

>104 clamairy: They were prompt restoring it this morning and everything was fine. She used the gas stove to heat large pots of water and left them out. It wasn't much, but it might have helped. The propane heaters are a good idea for emergencies.

>103 ludmillalotaria: Oh, I am sorry to hear that!

Today it's been between -14C and -10C (6.8F - 14F). There is a lot of snow everywhere.

>107 Alexandra_book_life: Sounds just like our weather! It was 16F and sunny a couple of hours ago and it felt almost warm.

Another cold, snowy weekend. My phone said it was -1F at 7 am and I was just out and my car couldn't decide if it was 2F or 3F.

Every one else is dealing with winter; here in Oregon, we are all worried because we’ve been record breaking warm and have no snow pack. Doesn’t bode well for water supplies for the summer. Or forest fires. I’ll probably be trapped inside in August because of smoke, so I’m trying to enjoy the weather even though it’s worrisome. We made it to 72 F the other day! I was out running in shorts. In February!

Just another day of stone cold lawless behavior - once again Ma Nature blew right through a stop sign and no one did a thing. :-)

>111 alco261: That’s a chilly scene!

In my neck of the woods - SE Michigan - O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! We're being promised temperatures well above freezing beginning next week. It might rain on Wednesday - rain! Kind of hard to imagine with the snow pack all around us.

But I'll welcome it. In the meantime, tonight's low temperature will be 3°F. Been a gorgeous sunny day, at least!

This is what my beach looks like these days.

Winter weather continues here as well, with temperatures between -13C (8.6F) and -7C (19F). Snow, snow, snow 😊❄️

>113 clamairy:
Wow! It must be cold to freeze the saltwater.

>115 pgmcc: It's dismal. We were at 3°F (-16°C) when I woke up this morning. This is so unusual for my area. I've been trying to keep my bird feeders filled, and the little heater I bought for my bird bath is struggling.

Not jealous of the super cold, but I am jealous you all are getting snow.

We finally have some rain today. I might go sit out on the porch just to enjoy the moisture. It’s been way too dry.

>116 clamairy: That's roughly where we were today as well. The frozen precip on the ground (snow, ice, whatever) is not melting. They tell us we may warm up in the coming days but not enough to thaw the stuff.

>118 jillmwo: I thought I saw a temperature of 36°F being dangled like a delectable treat somewhere towards the end of the week. That's not going to even begin to make a dent in the 6-ft mounds next to the end of my driveway.

Normal temps here. 28F this morning high in mid 50s this afternoon. What is weird is that a lot of algae has formed in the little creek that runs through our property. I haven’t noticed this much algae in our creek before, but maybe I just wasn’t paying attention.

>119 clamairy: I think we are supposed to get to 30F tomorrow! Currently -3F.

>121 Karlstar: I suspect that will feel wonderful.

>122 clamairy: Break out the t-shirt and shorts!

>116 clamairy: That’s an incredible view of your beach. Yep, that's cold!!

We're being dangled the same higher temps - and hopefully this means the beginning of the long, slow spring thaw. We need to see our driveway snow piles start to sag from higher temperatures before it snows again!

It has melted off the roof completely in most areas - I always welcome any sunshine we can get.

Currently -8C (17F). We've had more snow today. It's been fluctuating between -6C and -14C (21F-7F) all week, and it looks like this will continue for a while. Today I saw a meteorologist in my feed, predicting that this year the winter will stay until the end of March at least. Yay. Well, three (maybe four) years ago we had amazing snowstorms in March, I guess it's time for a rerun 😁

The news from SE Michigan is that I can see grass again in certain areas of the yard - and we're heading into a weekend full of more sun and temperatures well above freezing, so I'm likely to see more!

The backyard critters are feeling it, and I've heard lots of excited chattering and singing, as well as numerous plunges into the birdbath. Nutters, it's not THAT warm, but they looked like they were having a pool party.

I can only say: Yay!

Well, after three and a half weeks of rain, clouds and flooding, we were subjected to more rain and flooding overnight, this time mostly in north Dublin. In the afternoon the clouds cleared away and the sun gave a lovely impression of Spring. The clearing of the clouds was only the preluded to the sub-zero temperatures that have arrived and that are due to stay with us for a few days.

Saturday in southern England was sunny! Very cold, but sunny! We haven't seen the sun for more than a few minutes at a time for weeks. It was glorious.

Normal service resumed with a rainy Sunday.

We've had three weeks where we were generally about 20 degrees below an average temperature for this time of year in the Mid-Atlantic region. However, this week we're supposed to be spending the next seven days well ABOVE our average. There will be melting!!! Lots and lots of melting.

Above average here; sweater, no coat today. Temps predicted to plummet next week back into 20sF.

Well, the temps thus far have all been above freezing as promised but my husband seems to believe that the melting is not happening swiftly enough. He feels he must continue to chip away at the iceberg at the top of the driveway. I am a bit concerned over such control issues.... ;>)

>131 jillmwo:
You mean you are concerned that your control is being diminished?

>131 jillmwo: I agree with him. It is definitely not melting fast enough! It may be getting mushier, but it's almost all still out there.

I just looked at the forecast for this weekend and I want to cry.

>132 pgmcc: >133 clamairy: I'm sensing snark from Peter but my sympathy goes out to Clam. The meteorologist told those of us in the Mid-Atlantic region that this weekend's storm wouldn't really hit us. Did they say something different for Long Island?

As for the spouse, he's just annoyed by how long it is taking the iceberg to go away. It IS going away, but not fast enough. (We also still have snow all over the backyard.) I have to remind him that our area has been on the verge of drought in terms of rainfall and that allowing the frozen precip to melt slowly is a GOOD thing in that context as it is much more likely to seep down as it should. The man is not buying it.

>134 jillmwo:
Snark? Moi?

Surely you are mistaken.

>134 jillmwo: AccuWeather is still predicting 3 to 6 inches for us overnight Sunday into Monday. The Weather Channel has lowered their prediction to 1 inch. Keeping my fingers crossed.

It has been unseasonably chilly here, but things are now warming up a bit! 🤣🤣🤣

Gently snowing a the mo. Glad since it was warm and slushy lately and that's just way too soon. So I'm planning another winter walk somewhere with the camera.

Well, dagnabbit, overnight they changed the forecast AGAIN. Rather than the minimal coating of snow they'd said earlier in the week or the possibility of six inches accumulation they said yesterday at noon, NOW the little portly meteorologist on TV is telling me we could get up to a foot of snow Sunday into Monday. No need for alarm, we're relatively well situated with food and what-not, but...it's more snow just when the last batch had finally melted and disappeared.

>139 jillmwo: The last two batches are still on the ground here, although they are much more compacted than they used to be. We're in the 13" to 18" zone, with 55+ MPH winds predicted. I am making my Beaker face right now.

Yeah, my husband noticed the change of forecast to a Nor'easter and he changed his flight to Boston to tomorrow instead of Monday. Phew. Nothing major expected here, just some flurries and temps in the 20s. Perfect!

>140 clamairy:. I am *murfling* darkly myself. Patrick is fortunately occupied with a community "thing" for a few hours today so he will be somewhat distracted by that. He was none too thrilled with the new forecast. (Although we are both aware that it's not directly the fault of the portly weatherman on TV....)

>141 Bookmarque:. Hopefully he will get out on time.

>141 Bookmarque: Oh, I hope it's for early tomorrow! It's supposed to start at 6:00 a.m. here and Boston is only a little over a hundred miles North of me.

>140 clamairy: I plan to keep busy today, but during the 36 hours of sideways snow we're expecting I'm not sure what I'll be doing besides gazing out the windows with a horrified expression on my face.

>143 clamairy:. gazing out the windows with a horrified expression on my face.. Ooooh, please do post a selfie showing exactly what that looks like!! It will add immeasurably to my day.

>144 jillmwo:
I'm with you.

Where's that middle finger emoji...

Why >146 clamairy:!! I am shocked that a woman of your refinement and breeding would stoop to such a display....

>143 clamairy: Yeah, he's taking the earliest flight out and should be OK when he hits Logan.

Mostly sunny, 83F/29C
in Brunswick, Georgia.

>147 jillmwo: Jill, we've been friends on Facebook for almost two decades now. You know that supposed refinement of mine is virtually non-existent.

(Edited for clarity.)

>147 jillmwo:
What I said in >145 pgmcc:.

>150 clamairy:
Jill was just hoping her influence has had some effect.

>143 clamairy: Good luck, sounds like it is going to be nasty the next couple of days.

>152 Karlstar: Thanks. I spent the day prepping. I filled all the bird feeders to the max, filled up the snow blower with gas and brought in more wet firewood. (It was pouring all day yesterday.) We're now in the 12" to 24" zone. They are predicting that parts of coastal New Jersey might get 3 ft of snow. At this point I don't even care how much snow we get as long as I don't lose power.

Wishing everybody subject to the freezing and snowy condition the best of luck. I hope your power, heating and sustenance preparations prove sufficient to see you through to better conditions. Do your best to keep warm, comfortable and safe. Do not be tempted to roam out into the freezing conditions to shift snow. Stay safe.

The problem on this side of the Atlantic appears to be rain. Records are being broken for the number of consecutive days of rain in many countries in Europe. I may have mentioned before that rainfall in Ireland during January was 100% above the January norm. When you talk about rain in Ireland it is saying something to say the rainfall is twice as much as normal. There are flood warnings across the whole country because the ground is totally saturated and is not absorbing any of the excess rain. France's rain was 30% above normal and their rivers are overflowing. In Paris the Seine walkways are flooded and the boat tour cruises are cancelled because the boats cannot get under the bridges the water has risen so high.

>154 pgmcc: I wonder if the planet is trying to wash some of us away, and bury some of us under snow.

Overnight they changed the forecast. Yesterday, they told us we wouldn't get more than around a foot of snow (and one weather app -- ostensibly one tied closely to our specific location -- swore we'd get less than that. Only about 9 inches. No sweat.

This morning (awake early with the intention of bringing in the morning grocery delivery as quickly as possible) we discover that the nor'easter has shifted again and now we are squarely in the 18-22" band of anticipated precipitation. *murfle* The snow is now due to arrive later this afternoon and looking out the window by my desk, it's clear that all the folks who didn't get their errands done yesterday in anticipation of the storm are out now trying to rustle up groceries, snow melt, etc. Lots of traffic. Lots of folks panicking because they expect as >155 clamairy: suggested to be buried under the white stuff.

To further add insult to injury, after spouse had left for church, I put a quick bread loaf into the oven so I would have breakfast for the rest of the week and only after it's in the oven do I notice that it required TWO eggs rather than just the single one I put in.

ARRRGH.

>154 pgmcc: I hope you all get a break from the rain soon, that much rain and flooding is hard to deal with. @pgmcc Your house is safe and dry?

>156 jillmwo: Good luck to you too.

>155 clamairy:
People here have taken to putting ads in local papers asking Noah to make contact as they have lost his address.

>157 Karlstar:
Thank you, Jim. Thankfully we are well away from flood risks. I suspect in a few years time, when the sea level has risen after the melting of the icecaps I may be able to describe our neighbourhood as a seaside residence.

>156 jillmwo:
Keep safe. I am sure your one-egg loaf will do just fine.

I love your *murfle* expression and each time I see it in one of your posts I yearn to hear you pronounce it. Is it a bit like Mutley's murmurings in Catch the Pigeon, Mutley being Dirty Dick Dastardly's dog, the one that is not totally aligned with Dastardly's not nice intentions.

>158 pgmcc: I sound exactly like Muttley. How perspicacious of you to recognize that. (I am confident that being the sort of person who uses facecloths on a daily basis, you will also be familiar with multi-syllabic terminology.)

>159 jillmwo:
Furse-farsin-Dirty Dick Dastardly

Thinking about you all in the New England/eastern seaboard areas. I chatted with a friend in Boston earlier, whose local weather forecasters are telling them to prepare for about 20" of snow in this blizzard. She's a mite freaked out.

We're just getting brushed by the outskirts of this system and it's annoying to see any more snow on the ground after it all vanished. But it's nothing like a blizzard!

Stay safe, all.

>181 terriks: Well, I don't know how folks in the New England area have done, but I can say that we're still alive and kicking. No loss of power (which admittedly is always the great concern). In terms of snowfall, there is something between 9 and 12 inches outside our door and it is still drifting down a bit. (As always, much depends on the wind and where the drifts ended up.) This morning, my husband was able to open up both exit doors (front and kitchen) without too much difficulty. However, the evergreen trees and shrubberies are really bent over with the weight of the stuff. Now one town over, the newscasters are pointing to something like 12-14 inches but the airport (in the early morning hours) measured accumulation as something like 16 or more and there were more than 600 flights cancelled as a result of snow and wind gusts. Based on videos, folks in New Jersey along the shoreline got hit far more seriously.

Our snow removal guys won't be around until later in the day. So this is one of those days where really, you can't do more than settle in with a book. Folks are being good and staying off the roads -- at least around me. (I hear the cops in New York City are stopping people in their cars and asking for ID. If you are an essential worker headed to or from work, that's one thing. But they want to ticket those other people who are just out to be obstinate.)

>162 jillmwo: Glad it wasn't too bad, enjoy your reading.

I've got at least two feet of snow here and it's still coming down. Thankfully my neighbor came over with his bobcat and cleared my driveway, which is a huge relief. I will only have to use the blower to clear walkways, the path from my house to the garage, and the area in front of my mailbox where, for some reason, the town plowman tends to stay about 10 feet away from the curb.

>154 pgmcc: Glad to see you posting. I was beginning to worry that you may have lost power. I think it's hitting NY and NJ much harder than it hit PA.

>165 jillmwo:
We have power. I was just busy building a cabinet.

Could your post have been meant for >164 clamairy: instead of >154 pgmcc:?

>166 pgmcc: Actually, yes, I did mean to type >164 clamairy: because I know Long Island is getting hit hard. Thank you for making the point. But as long as I have a fragment of your attention, Peter, are you building a new cabinet to hold all the books acquired in Oxford? I mean was it really that big of a haul from Blackwells?

>167 jillmwo:
It is actually a cabinet to sit on top of our chest of drawers and hold the miscellaneous things that end up on the chest of drawers. My wife feels it would look more tidy. It is really a sweeping-it-under-the-carpet exercise.

I only bought one book in Blackwell’s because by the time we went there I had already acquired numerous books that would be risking the baggage allowance. As it was we were not challenged on case weight and I could, theoretically bought more. The one book I bought in Blackwell’s was a breach of an agreement my wife and I had not to buy anymore books on the trip. There were many books that tempted me that I resisted but when I was on the last leg of my Blackwell’s expedition I found a murder mystery set in Oxford so I had to risk my wife’s wrath. She likes murder mysteries too so my chastisement was not too severe.

>168 pgmcc: Well, no one could (or should) be expected to pass on the opportunity to buy a murder mystery set in Oxford. But I am anxious to know the title. (Even as I know I ought not to tempt myself in such a way. I love a good Oxford story...)

>164 clamairy: >165 jillmwo: Good to hear from both of you.

>162 jillmwo: >164 clamairy: I am glad things are going fine for you.

>162 jillmwo: >164 clamairy: Glad you both have power and are riding this out all right!

>164 clamairy: It’s nice to have a neighbor with a bobcat! That's wonderful.

My friend in Boston can't see out her windows, the snow is blowing so hard. She cracked her front door enough to take a picture and said she will not be opening it again! No movement around Boston.

The electricity stayed on and by 3:00 PM I was getting very ansty, so I went out and started shoveling and blowing. Some places on Long Island got 31 IN, but in my yard I measured several spots and got between 22-25 IN (56-63 CM.) I managed to get the blower stuck and had to dig it out with a shovel. And then, horror of horrors, as I was winding down my snow removal for the day a cable snapped on the blower. This meant I could not get it to go forward or backward. I could not just leave it sitting out in my yard. I put on my thinking cap, knelt in the snow and took a very close look at where it snapped. I trudged back into the house and came out with two zip ties and somehow managed to reattach the cable close to where it had snapped. It worked! After that I was able to put the blower in the garage. I will go back out tomorrow and finish up. Right now I'm spending quality time with a heating pad on my upper back.

I just loaded the first in Ellie Griffith's Harbinder Kaur series, Stranger Diaries on my Kindle.

A total MacGyver moment!!!

>173 clamairy: Very impressive work-around. Achievement badge unlocked!!

>174 Bookmarque:
I was thinking exactly the same thing.

>174 Bookmarque: & >176 pgmcc: LOL
>175 jillmwo: I was extremely excited when it worked.

>173 clamairy: I'm very impressed too.

>173 clamairy: Great ingenuity!

>173 clamairy: Great improvisation! I'm glad it worked and the storm wasn't too awful.

>173 clamairy: That had to be a great moment! Problem solved with a couple of zip ties!

This elevates you to bad-ass territory.

We have gone from quite a few degrees below freezing to 6-9C (43-48F). Almost all snow has melted. We'll see if it'll come back 😉

two very foggy days - damp during the day and a thunderstorm in the night.

- temperature right now Mar. 7th 10:36 am is 47 degrees fahrenheit.

We are supposed to get into the 60s today. I’m hoping to get some time in the sun reading. The Husband wants to get on his bike. The goal is just to enjoy the sun.

Since before the holidays, the temps here in central Texas have been mostly summer-like, but those nighttime numbers get pretty chilly, still.
Also, there has been 0 precipitation except the two or three inches of sleet/ice back in late January (and temps in single digits.)

Mother Nature is making up for all that now. Rain started earlier today, and it's not going to (fully) stop for at least a week. Severe thunderstorms will occur later today and continue all day Sunday, and again Tue/Wed. In all, possibly 7" of rain. There's a high likelihood of tornadoes, too.

And this is the tail end of the front! It's much worse in Mississippi toward Tennessee and on up north of Toronto. Stay warm and dry, folks.

>185 WholeHouseLibrary: We've been on the northern end of this system (SE Michigan) - it rained all day yesterday and last night there was a pounding thunderstorm. We had another, shorter, thunderstorm this morning.

But - it's 70F here right now! (3pm EST) Overcast and still humid from the rain, but it feels quite Spring-like out there.

Tomorrow and Monday the sunshine returns, with similar temps. I expect buds will really start to pop.

It won't last - this isn't the end of winter here. We'll dip back into the 30sF before the month is out, and if there's precipitation during that time, it will mean some snow. BUT - with the polar vortex gone and these warm spells, the worst seems over. Yay!!

It's been unusually warm for the last week and we have ice out on the river and pretty much everywhere else. Most of the snow is gone, too, leaving us with mucky ditches and ugly patches all over. It won't last, but we won't get more snow with much accumulation in the near future. If we are lucky April will be a nice month, but it rarely is.

From the Bureau of Meteorology website:

Moderate to heavy rainfall is forecast across parts of northern, central, and southeastern Queensland for the next few days, as a broad trough draws in deep tropical moisture across the state. Catchments across the North Tropical Coast, Central Coast and parts of the Capricornia and Wide Bay are wet to saturated from recent rainfall. Catchments along the southeastern coast, and throughout central Queensland are less wet but will still respond quickly to heavy rainfall. Multiple minor to major Flood Warnings are current across Queensland.

"Southeastern coast" is us here.

Wednesday night/Thursday morning we had severe thunderstorms and 4.6" of rain. A lot of flash flooding; a nearby town (15 minutes away) had a lot of water rescues when a normally nothing-much creek flooded homes. The main river that runs through the county also flooded, as did all of the many creeks. Friday was sunny and in the high 70s, but last night another storm came through and it's been gloomy and in the mid-60s all day. Otoh, my daffodils and hyacinths have begun blooming, and I heard the spring peepers this week, so we are definitely on the tail end of winter.

Spring Forward today!

It's 52 degrees as of now in Madison.

>190 rowendelle: They're telling us that our current temp is 71 degrees at the Philadelphia airport.

>191 jillmwo:

Wow!

Re: >185 WholeHouseLibrary: ... A total bust. Got less than a half inch of rain (so far.) We'll see what Tuesday brings.

Ha. Following on from #188, it's stlll raining, likely to rain all day, and the flood warning is still current.

60 mile per hour winds started last night and all day today and the temp. is dropping quite a bit.

- by Monday we'll be at 5 degrees!

>195 rowendelle: We've been under a wind advisory, too - I've been listening to gale force winds (IMO!) all freaking day. Very nerve-wracking when the punch of the gusts comes.

We've not lost power and if we can hang on a few more hours we'll be through the worst of it. Power outages all around us.

We're going to experience a 60° F drop in temperature beginning Sunday afternoon. Mid-90s to the mid-30s, and with the wind chill factored in, the feel-like temps could reach the low-20s.
It's okay. I just had to replace both of my HVAC units. I'll be warm, but I see a lot of PB&J sandwiches in my future.

I'm hoping the forecast is as accurate as it was a week ago. (see #s 185 and 193)

About that wind advisory....we made it through without losing power, but it came at a high cost. I live in a small city, more a neighborhood feel. Friday night was gale force winds that went on for hours, all day and well into the night. The whole city has tree-lined streets, so high winds are taken as a major reason we lose power due to downed limbs and there are always crews out there.

A crew member called in to help move downed limbs and debris so emergency vehicles could get through was struck down by a huge limb. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but later died. The family has set up a Go Fund Me and people are shocked and contributing, etc. He had a wife and 3 kids: 12, 9 and 6. We knew this man, as he was part of the City crew who oversaw the removal of the century-plus old tree that was in front of our bungalow and had been hit by a storm right before we moved in. He was very nice, friendly and professional, and was one of the first people we met when we got here because of the tree issue. We'd wave at him driving through town if we saw him at work.

More high winds expected in our area over the next couple of days, but not as intense as what we had Friday-Saturday.

Oh man that's awful. What a freak accident. So tragic.

>199 Bookmarque: Thank you. Yes, tragic. I'd rather lose power than see people risking themselves like that.

>198 terriks:
I am sorry to hear that. We owe a lot to those people working to keep things going for us during dangerous weather conditions.

>201 pgmcc: Yes we do. Thank you. This one is just a little close to home. :)

We always owe a lot to our first responders.

>198 terriks: Oh, this is terrible. I am so sorry.

>203 Alexandra_book_life: Thank you. :)

>198 terriks: I am so sorry to hear about this. I do realize these utility people put their lives on the line on a regular basis, especially since our weather seems to have gotten so much more erratic.

>205 clamairy: Thank you. :) Our neighborhood and surrounding community has been quite wonderful in gathering around this family, which has been heartwarming to see. ❤️

This weather pattern with the insane high winds has finally moved out. Today is the Spring Equinox, and though it's spitting a little rain this morning, it's supposed to clear out at last and the temperatures will really shoot up.

Here in London, we thought spring had arrived. The first week of May was beautifully sunny and warm, t-shirt weather. Since then though it has been cloudy, cold and damp. Radiators and big coats back on. It doesn't seem to have discouraged the geese though - there are lots of families with goslings of various sizes happily foraging in the park. Supposedly the temperatures will rise later this week. We will see.

As a contrast to what >207 Sakerfalcon: says is going on in London, those of us in the Mid-Atlantic region of the East Coast are operating under 48 hours of severe heat advisory, breaking temperature records last set in the 1960s. Today, we may hit 98 and tomorrow, it will cool down to 96. Then they promise us a dramatic cool down. 60s for the most part for the following 5 or 6 days. Spouse decided last night that we would turn on the A/C for the duration of the heat advisory. (It was our first heat wave of the year -- 3 or more days when temps go above 90 degrees.)

>208 jillmwo: I'm worried the summer is going to be one big heat wave/bubble here in Central Oregon. We had a "winter that never was" and that usually portends a hot summer. The wildfires are going to be harsh. We will be in the 80s in the coming days.

>208 jillmwo: Yikes! I won't complain about my 80°F then! I let wouldn't feel so bad except it's really only been in the lower 60s up until now, so it's a bit of a shock. After tomorrow we're headed back down to the '60s for at least a week.

Well, our temperature of 98 degrees yesterday broke the record for temps in Philadelphia in May across the full length of recorded data. Even those dedicated exercise types who run up and down the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum every morning seemed lackadaisical when the news guys with the camera were out at 6am. We're fine. The A/C clicked on when it ought to have done. As an added bonus, the humidity felt low.

Now today, we're supposed to hit 96 but I think the meteorologist said we'd feel a rise in humidity before the violent storms move through around 5 or 6pm. Then tomorrow, it's not supposed to even hit 60 degrees as the high for the day.

And >210 clamairy: you're by the shore so I would imagine that you wouldn't hit these same temps? After all, that's why people GO down the shore.

>208 jillmwo: You're describing what just rolled through here in SE Michigan. Two days (so technically not a heat wave, apparently) of sudden temps around 90°F with thick, heavy humidity that made it oppressive outside.

We've had a few rounds of blowout storms rolling through, and today (and the next several days) will stay in the 60sF - a little sun, more rain.

We turned our A/C on for about 24 hours just to keep the house dry and be able to sleep. Once the humidity drops off, we can open the windows again.

>211 jillmwo: It was 94°F on my way home from getting my car serviced. I had been walking around visiting a bunch of stores and it didn't really feel awful until I got into my car. It's 90°F (32°C) in my yard but there is a nice breeze and the humidity is low. I am toying with the idea of taking my Kindle to the beach so I can finish the latest Murderbot. The breeze off the water should be perfect, since it's still only about 60°F.

We're also getting storms this evening, and we're under a storm warning. I hope my plants stay safe!

Hot & dry in North Carolina.
91F/33C at 5p

Hurray, it was 21C (70F) yesterday and we might get 24C (75F) today. Finally... Next week will be colder, but I am happy anyway.
Lilac is in bloom and it's everywhere.

>215 Alexandra_book_life: Lovely lilac.

We’re still in a drought but finally getting some rain. However, a lot of storms in the area have managed to go around us. We finally got a quarter inch last night so my gardenias are gasping a sigh of relief.

Ironically, city of Atlanta got 2.5 inches a few days ago and the interstate flooded because storms drains were clogged. Glad I didn’t commute on the day that happened!

Today has just been dreary with consistent rain. The rain would come down at different rates (drizzle, drenching, or simply straight) but the temp never got above 53 degrees. There was enough chill in the air for the heat to be on and me in a cotton turtleneck and nylon vest. (See, I do fashion news when we chat about the weather....) This in mid-May. But in another five days, we'll be easing up in the low 80s.

>217 jillmwo: Same weather pattern here in SE Michigan. Rain followed by drizzle, windy, chilly - until Monday, when supposedly this system breaks and we'll suddenly dry out a bit, and the temps will be more in line with late Spring: upper 70s°F to low 80s°F, dry, sunny. The flowers should explode. The visiting orioles are happy at the bird feeder.

Given the drought-like conditions of much of North America, I can't complain. Everything is pretty lush here.

>217 jillmwo: Basically the same here, but I don't think we got to the 50's. Last week, the day before I left for DC the high was 45F. Two days later in DC it was 85F

>219 Karlstar: It is hard to adjust to the crazy swings in temperature. I put most of my Winter clothes away during the heat spell. Luckily I left out some wool socks and warm layers.

This is the second full day of rain, and it's a lot heavier today.

Today should be the start of some excellent weather up this way - 80s and sunny with a breeze. The new furniture is ready to go on the deck, the dock is in and the chairs that go down there have been hosed off. Woo hoo!

We are experiencing a hot sunny spell in France. Today we had temperatures up to 32C (about 90F) and the forecast indicates it will rise up to 36C later in the week. Cloudless skies at the moment and forecast throughout the week. These temperatures, while normal for France, have arrived some weeks early, about six to eight weeks early.

Of course this type of weather here usually ends in dramatic thunder storms accompanied by torrential rain and hailstones.

10:14 hrs and 27C in shade. At home in Dublin they are issuing warnings about the heat reaching 27C. We are expecting 35C here in France.

>223 pgmcc: Yikes. Protect the cheeses at all costs! (And keep yourselves comfortable, too.)

>224 clamairy:
It has reached 35C in the shade on the veranda with four fans blowing. We are inside with the AC set to a comfortable 23C.

>225 pgmcc: Ow, that's hot! 71F and sunny here, finally a day without cold or rain. The yard is still a swamp from Saturday's soaker.

We've had 34 degrees in East Anglia. I'm gasping, so's the garden. It didn't help walking into town 2 days running (Fri & Sat) and making myself ill. Yesterday I was shivering and couldn't keep awake.

Today I've been better: managed to plant my leeks out before it got very hot and pottered around the house. I'll probably call in sick tomorrow.

Still warmish (low 20s) in Brisbane but cloudy most days, and fairly frequent showers. Possibly getting "cold" on the weekend though — forecast is for 11℃ overnight.

>228 haydninvienna: That 11 degrees celsius makes it roughly 51 in Fahrenheit (good sleeping weather). Hopefully, you were able to get a good night's rest?

And the weather has broken: the threatening thunderstorm has followed through.

The beans have been stashed under the raised cold frame and the pots of herbs in it. Heavy hail was forecast.

>229 jillmwo: Makes it easier, yes.

We've had the heatwave in London too. 5 days in a row of temperatures over 30C. It's unbearable as few buildings are designed to cope with heat like this, and as for the underground and other trains ... just awful. Thankfully it's only 25C today and is supposed to be cooler for a while now. I regret having complained about the cold a couple of weeks ago!

>232 Sakerfalcon:. Yes, that 30 degrees Celsius would definitely be uncomfortable under those conditions. But what we're having on the East Coast of the US at the moment is more like your 25C.

I had to switch my mini-splits back over to air conditioning for a couple of days. The heat wasn't excessive but it was very humid from all of that rain, which made it feel uncomfortable. Now the extended forecast says it's going to be in the mid 40s (7° C) at night over the weekend. I'll be switching from shorts & tank tops back into jeans, wool socks and sweaters again. If I didn't know better I'd say Mother Nature was menopausal.

After a week that began with quite a bit of rain, it's now sunny and clear, although cool by Brisbane standards (19℃ right now, just before 5pm Eastern Australian Standard Time). Windy also, giving a "feels like" of 16℃.

>232 Sakerfalcon: The first year I worked in London (2006) was a heatwave as well, and people kept saying things like "this must feel just like home to you ...".

Here in the Midwest US, we're in the midst of what the local weather forecasters are calling an Omega block. A high pressure system becomes trapped between two low pressure systems, causing the jet stream to buckle and resembles the Greek letter Omega on tracking systems. I've never heard of this.

All I know is that the rain and humidity here have been absent all week and will continue to be absent well into next week. We're in stunningly perfect weather - highs around 75F (24C), a little wind, clear skies day and night. We've not touched the heat or the A/C in days. Windows are open continuously.

I'll accept this gift from the weather gods, after the triple Polar vortex systems of this past winter and massive snow dumps!

>236 terriks: In fact your weather and mine are about the same, except that for you it's almost summer and for me almost winter!

>237 haydninvienna: Ha! We'll likely both take a stretch of days like this however we get them. :) Makes us more forgiving of rain, ice and snow.

>237 haydninvienna: Here too, if you add that the sunshine is diffused by a little light clouds.

Our hot spell has come to an end. There were the expected thunderstorms nearby and today’s temperature is in the mid-20s rather than the upper 30s centigrade we have we have been experiencing for the past week.

Sunny 69F/21C
in central North Carolina at 11am

After a series of hot days, we're into cool (under 15C) and rainy until Wednesday, after which we'll have warm (over 20C) and less rain. I'm okay with this. I'll miss sitting in the shade, reading, but I can always read indoors LOL. Additionally, the house is in DESPERATE need of cleaning, my husband is having a baking day (bread! cinnamon buns!), and yesterday I finished planting all my veg gardens. The rain also means I don't have to water anything, probably for the next week.

Another lovely summer day today, 23C (73F) with lots of sunshine. I treated myself to a 10 km (ca 6 miles) walk in the forest.

Where are you, Alexandra?

>242 tardis: I love it when it rains enough that I don't have to water, but not enough that I have to run around emptying out the saucers under the plants that are in pots.

>242 tardis:. Wait a minute! There were cinnamon buns on offer? Why didn't you say so earlier? I'd have been at your door for sure.

>246 jillmwo: He makes really excellent cinnamon buns :) There are still some left because, excellent as they are, two of us can't eat a whole batch in one day. I had one for breakfast. Delish!

>245 clamairy: I had to go out and empty plant trays this morning, and will probably have to do it again. The rain has been steady since the wee hours of Sunday morning and it's not forecasted to let up until Wednesday. Welcome to Alberta - too dry, too wet, too hot, too cold, too windy... nothing you can do about it LOL.

I did some tidying yesterday (washed all the empty plant pots!) and today I'm vacuuming. So much fun. I'm thankful for podcasts and audiobooks.

>244 Meredy: Sweden :)

For those planning to complain of heat ....

Sani Pass (KN to Lesotho) is closed by snow. Several other Drakensberg passes have a white dusting. Here in Durban it is 15°C expected maximum 19.

>249 hfglen: I rarely complain of heat (although I do complain of humidity), but your point is taken!

Glad you're not buried by the snow.

>249 hfglen: I think those temperatures sound quite comfortable. (59-66 degrees max). However, if the houses aren't built for that, it may not quite as comfy. Long pants maybe rather than shorts, but tolerable. Snow is of course a different type of factor.

Meanwhile, where I am, we're supposed to hit something like 97 this afternoon accompanied by a certain amount of moist stickiness.

>251 jillmwo: 97!! Stay cool! 77F for the high here today, another beautiful day, we've had at least a week's worth.

Another wild night of wicked storm systems rolling across the state. It's bad when you find yourself outside at 1:30am grabbing the potted herbs inside for safety. Then, just sitting in the dark watching the wild tree action and lightning strikes all around.

This is supposed to be the end of a three-day heat wave that generated these storms every afternoon. The Mallard couple that hang around this time of year had a great time when our flow well got overrun in a pounding rain. For over an hour they splashed and frolicked in the sudden mini-pond. :) That's fun, at least!

Today is clear, sunny and the temperature has dropped, along with the sultry feel that charged up all the storms. Should be a lovely weekend!

>253 terriks: Yes, we're currently experiencing the second or third day of that same heat wave. It's a coin toss when we will see the storm front that will help to cool things down. (As to your late night excursion, I am impressed by any woman who is up at 1:30 am to go out to rescue the herb pots.)

>253 terriks: Thank you for that mental image! It wasn't 1:30 a.m., but I was out running around getting my hanging plants off their hooks when a boomer rolled through yesterday evening. Unfortunately we didn't get the rain we needed, but we've got another shot at it this evening as we're under a thunderstorm watch again. We hit 92° here yesterday which is 7° above the previous record high for the day. Not good. We only hit 89° today but it feels like 97° because of the humidity. I am inside cleaning because I can't work outside when it's like this. I think our weekend is still supposed to be toasty, but then it will cool off again.

>254 jillmwo: We've had a much calmer day, so I hope it rolls your way soon.

Those herbs weren't going to get out of the storm by themselves. ;)

>255 clamairy: Ugh; I hope it breaks soon out your way! Trying to work outside in humidity like that is exhausting.

It's been between 11C and 15C (52-59F) for the last few days, with quite a bit of rain. It would be nice if summer decided to come back for a while ;)

35C (95F) in the shade on our veranda today. Currently enjoying the AC.

>258 pgmcc: Ouch. Good thing you have plenty of reading material! (And hopefully cheese, wine, etc.)

>258 pgmcc: 22C and low humidity here today, it was the same with no humidity yesterday and it was around 20C on Monday. Maybe you should plan your trip for the West of New York next year?

>258 pgmcc: Oh dear. Take it easy and enjoy your books, cheese and wine...

>261 Alexandra_book_life:
That is exactly my survival strategy.
:-)