Unrelated question: Hows the weather? Strange of not?

No rain in the Northern California, iris blooming in January.
Fruit trees budding in Kansas.
I'm curious as to what changes do you see in Mother Nature.
What state do you live in and is the weather there normal or not?

[MagTX]

Monday we had some strange weather, tornados all around, one hit the mall not far from us and another touched down across town and took off roof tops!  It is expected around here with the occasional heavy thunder storms and flash flooding, it all comes with the territory.

It's always been borderline tropics here so everything is still green,blooming like crazy,  and still growing, and the weeds in the weeds in the beds are too! LOL

We're expecting a 6 hr freeze tomorrow night, so will have to cover up all the tropical stuff and bring in potted stuff, work!  Uuuh!

BTW, this is in Houston, Galveston Bay area...

[old_newb]

Definitely weird weather here in Portland, Oregon. Hardly any rain, snowpack under 50% of normal. Fairly warm weather for January, though some nights into the 20s. Bulbs coming up also!

Wish I could go out and enjoy the sunshine right now!

best to you,

newb

[FlGuy]

Normal here in South Florida; sunny, warm with 80 percent chance of Canadians slowing up rush hour traffic

[orphanedhawk]

Lol!
Got some snowbirds clogging up the road ways, eh?

[suezeeque]

Can't imagine why...  I'm near Toronto, Ontario and I've still got green in my garden.  ;)

Really wish I was headed for Ocala, though.  Supposed to get a cold snap in the next few days and some snow (we have NONE now).

[willbb]

Fun in the sun here eh Sue..

From what I hear about parts of Fl.these days ..good thing Canadians are still heading down there to spend some money..

[eureka254]

Not that I'm complaining, but the weather in New England has been beyond strange.  We had a blizzard that knocked out power to half the state the weekend before Halloween, and no snow since.  It's been unseasonably mild... one of the warmest winters I can remember.

My neighbor's rose bushes were still flowering the week before Christmas, and this morning I came across pansies completely covered in blooms.  I'd say we've been 10-15 degrees above average for the last two months.  After shoveling over 120 inches of snow last year, this is just fine with me... since snow didn't come for Christmas, it can stay gone as far as I'm concerned. :)  

No snow or Canadians tying up traffic ;). ~eureka

[Susan_1a_CC]

Daffodils starting to bloom along w/ forsythia which is about 4-5 weeks ahead of "normal" for eastern North Carolina.  I'm wondering if winter will come in early spring?

[FlGuy]

Hey, I appreciate the snowbirds.  I have a rental place for the seasonal migration of the flocks.  After the holidays, when the schools are back in session and the migration is at it's peak we need to adjust for the traffic volumes. An informal survey reveals that if you are going to be in traffic you'd prefer Ontarioians over Quebecers.  But in reality, neither are ever in a rush to go anywhere.  Personally, I'd rather have Nunavut

[willbb]

An informal survey reveals that if you are going to be in traffic you'd prefer Ontarioians over Quebecers.  But in reality, neither are ever in a rush to go anywhere.  Personally, I'd rather have Nunavut

Lol...nice to see you around :)

Will

[fretboard]

Killer weather here in Sacramento but many are praying for some rain, oh and the Lake Tahoe area is begging for snow.  If it's not one thing, it's another.

[belle19]

we're having killer weather here in so cal.  it's better than summer.  all we need are bigger waves.  we had some last week but today they were about 6".  has been a dismal winter for swells.  praying for surf as well as my health.  i'm feeling the best i've felt since i started tx in june.  have a good one.  best wishes.  belle

[working dog]

not good here this year....4" of snow in january!! bad news...14 below in town tonight with 35 below wind chill...up on the mountain i don't wanta guess what temps are coming...northern maine economy is taking a hit...big snowmobile event coming up doesn't look good...but i'm feeling fine...in fact for tx it's been nice not trudging through the snow...a very dry winter......billy

[Revalation]

Great Question!!

Cold and light snow in Detroit, Michigan.

Nice to know what the conditions are it other places

[starshine1ca]

We got some ice and snow in Toronto the other day and fortunately they did not call in the army this time...hehehe  Lots of accidents..but the traffic is less congested with all the snowbirds in Florida...lol  It is darned cold today, I must say...brrrrrrr...-15 Celsius.  

[eureka254]

(Sigh) Well, they say in New England if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute... it'll change.
I know I spoke too soon about how mild it's been... today I woke up to air temps of 7degrees F and wind chill at 0degrees F(-18C).
I'd like Nunavut as well :).

[orphanedhawk]

Meanwhile in the bay area. . .

Last week, as I walked along the lake, the ducks swam quickly into a group. Then, in three separate flocks, many took to the air.
Off went most of the canvas backs in migratory formation, while the pintails and golden eyes remain.
Warm weather followed with the scent of Spring.
Today, there is a dark cloud cover, cooler temperatures which hint at our missing rain.

I'm wondering, if like the East Coast,will all our winter moisture get dumped in a few intense weeks,
Or will it be one of our drought years?
Time will tell.
( Personally, I prefer the tropics)

[screaming48]

70 degrees in North Central Texas, I don't find it odd though as every few years we have a warmer winter. What I am dreading is spring with the bad thunderstorms.

[nygirl7]

Like Eureka said woke up this morning to 6 degrees = but tomorrow it will rain and be almost 50 again.  Strange, strange weather for certain (but I dont miss the shoveling at ALL this year nor being buried under five feet of snow for an entire winter).

[Interfurgen]

Roof blew off in that really bad wind storm 6 weeks back . And today the new roof is on . Last night it got down to 12 degrees left the well house door open yesterday , so at 7am I'm out in the well house  putting the heater on, i guess i can use bottle water for coffee, Yesterday it was tshirt weather it's just starting to warm up and it is noon by. right know it 60, by 4pm it will drop to the 40's . Rain,that means snow had all i care to have last year.Boy howdy!We got a ton of the stuff last year.

[frijole]

good thread

It is wierd here in West Texas.  We have had 19.5" of snow since December 1.  We had the first white Christmas that anyone can remember  and the last snowfall was 1/9 - up to 10.5" in some places.  We have had more snow than Buffalo NY and a lot of places in the country.  Normally we get 1 snowfall every couple of years.

As you may recall, that early December storm was the day of my appointment with the heppo in Dallas.  Well, the Jan 9 snowfall was also an appt with heppo in Dallas.  Only this time I got stranded in Dallas (Midland airport closed) and had the spend the night,  No fun.

Meanwhile we are still in severe drought.  We had 5.4" of rain for the year of 2011 with 1.5 being those December snowfalls.

Crazy year

[frijole]

Off went most of the canvas backs in migratory formation, while the pintails and golden eyes remain.

OH - you are quite the poet.  I think it is the artist in you

[suezeeque]

I much prefer the "je me souviens" license plates be on Florida roads.  ;)

[James10500]

Finally had a real nice powder day here in Breckenridge CO Sunday 1/22/12. 10-12 inches. Things have been pretty bad here, people canceling. I hope it doesn't warm to 70 degrees by March. A poor ski season that's for sure.

[orphanedhawk]

My friend in Maui says it's still dry there and warm, like summer.

The rain finally began here a few days ago.
My mother who will turn 94 this week, phoned excitedly and announced she was doing a rain dance. Then she began to sing a silly song about swirling your butt around and around.

When I get old, I want to be like Mom~ she's lost a lot of senses but not the most important one~her sense of humor!

[frijole]

I didn't know you lived in Breckenridge.  I spent many a day in the Gold Pan waiting for a ride back across the pass to Alma in the early 70s.  NOw that is something -- Midland Texas has more snow that Breckenridge Colorado.

[James10500]

Wow, small world. I have quite a few friends that live in Alma.  Yep the old Gold Pan is still there, and looking as authentic as ever, a classic!

[EyesofBlue55]

Daffodils are busting the ground here in Georgia and my peach tree is getting leaves.Weather is crazy here too lately.Unseasonably warm for this time of year.We get hit the hardest in Feb and have had snow in March.Guess if it gets below 32* i will have to cover the peach tree otherwize No peaches!!!

[Andiamo1]

There is a Li Niña this year and somehow it causes the Jet Stream to move further north than normal.  The jet stream is blocking the cold air mass and keeping it  north of the US.  This causes the US weather to have higher temps than normal except for Alaska, which is colder than normal due to the same phenomenon.

[orphanedhawk]

I'm aware of La Nina but it doesn't really explain some of the strange phenomena I see, like flowers blooming at odd times.
I'd always related plant cycles to the length of day.
So, maybe the solar flares also are responsible for the odd weather?
I don't know, just curious.

BTW: Good to see you posting.
I'm going to join you on the SVR train, very soon :)

[Dee1956]

Yes, we have bulbs blooming in Virginia, it is  months too early.  Hydrangeas are confused and budding.

[Dee1956]

Forgot to mention we started seeing swarms of robins a few weeks ago, again months early and I have never heard of or seen a group of woodpeckers but we had them too.  

Good post

[desrt]

Dryland Farm

"there’s thunderstorms buildin up over on the county line
all the neighborin farms got rain but I never get a drop on mine
you might think a little ol’ summer breeze couldn’t do nobody harm
but it burns like a blazin blowtorch
when you’re livin on a DRY LAND FARM

when the west wind comes blowin…the sand comes blowin too
and I must say a mouthful is more than I can chew
I swallered a gallon for every acre and God knows it hurt
but it ain’t as bad as the trouble I had
breakin up that dry land farm

now the politician says to the farmer you’re the backbone of the land
and the irrigatin farmer says…thank you sir I’ll eat right outta your hand
and your average automobile has air conditionin when it’s warm
yeah things are cool for everybody
but the man on the DRY LAND FARM

now if I had my wicked way in this equally wicked world
I’d build a garden-of-eden for every boy and girl
but I’d take our two-faced president and I’d grab him by the arm
stick him out in the middle of the desert
and make him work on a DRY LAND FARM

Butch Hancock

(Note: Butch wrote this in the 60s and has said he hasn't seen the need to change that last verse during any subsequent administration. I can see thunderclouds over the Sierra Del Carmens. Pray for rain.)