2019 What's the weather like where you are?

[applestar]

Pulled up weather maps looking for the promised rain yesterday - only got about 1/4 in. But did hook up one rainbarrel so hopefully got some collected. Looked like the NY-New England states got some heavy sleet/snow? Michigan, too?

Yesterday’s storm was doing the now familiar “thin/split over my area while passing over” morphing on the time lapse radar video. I learned at the Pine Barrens Weather lecture I attended last year, that it has something to do with the heavy deposit of sand in that region which creates a vast area of thermal differentiation (my township has a cute little sign that says “you are now entering the Pine Barrens” at a location that doesn’t even have any pine trees — my garden is still on the outskirts and underlying subsoil is clay, not sand....)

I need to set up the rest of the rain barrels — actually need to repair/replace two....

[gumbo2176]

It stopped raining long enough for the ground to dry and for me to get the last of my spring/summer seeds in the ground on Wednesday. I put in soybean seeds for edamame, okra seeds and replanted some yard long and bush bean seeds where they were coming up kind of sparsely.

Then on Thursday the skies opened up again and we had a real gully washer of a rainfall that filled between my rows with several inches of water. Hope it didn't wash away many of the seeds I had just put in the rows. Only time will tell.

At least I won't need to water for at least a week.

[applestar]

Yesterday around 4pm, my car’s rear view mirror display said it was 86°F when I went out for an errand

Fortunately, we’re back down to the more normal 60’s today and rest of the week. Night time temps are mostly in the 40’s.

I do wish it would rain a little bit more. Yeah, I know everybody else is getting too much.

[pepperhead212]

The temp got to 83° in the shade here yesterday. The thermometer in the sun, when that high was showing, registered 89°, and it almost felt like it! Just not used to heat yet.

The top layer of soil was quite dry Sunday, when I planted my greens. I would have liked some more rain, too, but that doesn't happen when I want it!

[applestar]

I don’t know if I haven’t been paying attention, but all of a sudden, we are in near summer temperatures, and it feels like I should have been hardening off my tomatoes yesterday. (Last average frost was supposed to be last week of April.... )

I need to Uppot them all so they can go out and not dry out in tiny individual “cells”

I nearly had a heat stroke yesterday prepping one of the garden beds — so not used to working under these conditions.

[digitS']

We had 69° and the warmest afternoon of the year, yesterday.

This morning's low, 55°! It might be sprinkling out there but the clouds are holding the warmth for the warmest 2019 overnight low.

Maybe, sprinkling or not, the garden soil will finally be dry enuf for some tilling.

Steve

[Gary350]

47 degrees now, 70 after lunch. No rain, no wind, no fog, no clouds, no snow, no ice, no blizzard, no earth quakes, no tornadoes, no title wave, no flooding, no volcano eruptions, no forest fires, no mud slides, going to be a very nice day. Lots of birds chirping sound & wild flowers in the yard. Nice day to visit Mexican flea market, buy spices & eat lunch. Dark about 8 pm. Relax, have a glass of red wine, enjoy the full moon & star show tonight.

[imafan26]

Right now it is 67 degrees but should warm up to 80 later on. It is a cloudy day but it there is a breeze. Lately, there have been convection clouds forming in the afternoons but it does not always rain. If it does the rains are brief. My rain barrels are still full, so I have started to use some of the water now that we are between storms. I have to water every day now, before I could sometimes get away with watering every third day. This is partly due to the fact that I have some plants that need to be up potted, but also because the peat lite is designed to survive a deluge and dry out fast.

[pepperhead212]

It has been so warm here (I just heard that April, so far, has been 6° above average), not just highs, but high lows, that my tomatoes were getting overgrown indoors, since the temp in the seedling room has been probably been around 70-75°, sometimes higher, while I usually have it in the mid 60s! They were ready to go out in just 3 weeks from when the seeds went in - 4-1. So a few days ago, I started hardening them off, and all are planted now - the earliest I have ever planted tomatoes!

Yesterday it was 81° out here, today only around 74° - still well above average. And only one low in the 40s in the 10 day forecast - only 49°! Often, in mid-May, I am watching for lows below 55° , to plant peppers safely, and often there would be lows about what they are now, 3 weeks later.

[applestar]

Looking at forecast of 48°F, 48, 41, then 50 for early morning low for Sat, Sun, Mon, and Tues. adjust that to 45, 45, 38, and 57 based on previous experiences.... I started to harden off some of the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, but they may need to come back in— especially Sunday night for that Monday pre-dawn low.

[pepperhead212]

How did everyone fare in these storms that came through today? Early in the day, it was only supposed to be light rain here, and a line came up the E coast, giving everyone along the line thunderstorms and heavy rain, though it did go quickly. Later, we got the expected line from the west, which placed a large area on a tornado watch - not normal in this area! It went through this area very quickly, with trees whipping around so hard that I was expecting something to come down. 7 or 8 minutes later, the trees were still. No damage out there, fortunately.

[pow wow]

Had a nice couple of weeks here in Calgary, now my province is in for up to 25cm of snow over the next two days. I may get to run my snow blower one last time.

[applestar]

Went down to 34°F. Good then I bought inside all the baby tomato plants as well as the peppers and eggplants last night.

[pepperhead212]

I was wondering how much colder you got last night, apple. It only got down to 44° here last night (forecast for 42, so not much off). If it had been forecast for much lower, or the frost advisory had been closer, I would have had to cover all those tomatoes I had planted so early! Did it frost in your area, or was it breezy enough to prevent that?

[gumbo2176]

Summer temps are creeping up day by day here in the deep south of the U.S. I've got to water twice a day for the new seedlings sprouting to make sure they don't dry up enough to die. Amazing how fast the first couple inches of soil dry out in a day now.

[imafan26]

The night temperatures are still cool and it is 67 degrees now. The sun will be up in another hour. The high will be around 80. It is actually ideal weather. The corn is growing much faster now that it is warming up and the days are longer. I am still seeing the April showers that bring May flowers. We have a respite to the usual tradewind pattern for a few days before another weather system arrives and settles in for the weekend. The transient deluges do cause havoc especially on orchids. The good news is that this kind of weather pattern also knocks off thrips, mites, and whiteflies for a while.

The weather has been cooler than average for this time of year. There have been warm days, but overall the days have been more overcast and the nights have been cooler. As a result, even though, I would say we did not get as much rain over winter as usual, the colder weather has definitely delayed things. The honohono orchids are now in peak bloom, about a month later than normal. Unfortunately, the intermittent deluges are ruining the flowers. The popcorn oncidiums (onc. sphacelatum) are only beginning to bloom now. I hope they will be fully open in two weeks for the orchid show. They only bloom once a year, but they are easy orchids since they don't care if they are in the sun or shade or if watering is uneven. They usually bloom in time for Mother's day.

I may have lost some seeds as well since last week it rained for nearly 24 hours a day for 4 days. Nothing so far has sprouted. I may have to replant some of the seeds in a lighter mix. I lost the edible hibiscus, it rotted overnight from the excess water.

Unfortunately, the grass is greening up again, so I will have to mow again. My grass responds rapidly to when it gets a good rain. I rarely water the grass, but I did feed a couple of months ago. My grass is now a mix of Dwarf St. Augustine, nut sedge, and wild bermuda grass. Nut sedge is a pain, but the St. Augustine coarse blades hide it well.

It looks like a weak El Nino year ahead with warmer than usual summer. The relatively dry winter and cooler temperatures usually mean that I will get more summer rain but hotter days which will hover around 90 degrees.

[digitS']

Too much wind lately!!

But, yesterday was fairly nice after a morning low of 33ºf in the distant garden. After 35º out there this AM ... it has warmed to 72º.

Our first day in the 70's! Set some snapdragon and onions out.

Steve

[digitS']

First day with temperatures above 80ºf ..

. since September 7, 2018. Over 8 months!

It's a little hard to adjust with the first day above 70º, less than a week past ...

Active today! Good thing that I'm a California boy.

Steve

[Gary350]

You think today is May 12 but it is really March 73. Weather forecast for tonight 43 degrees.

[pepperhead212]

A few days ago, I delayed planting my peppers and okra, due to the next 3 nights of 46,46, and 45° lows! Usually, I shoot for May 15th for peppers going in, and 55° for the lowest temp once they go out. Today, it got to 53° for a high! I got 1.32" of rain (a little more before midnight), with more, and heavier rain tomorrow.

[applestar]

@pepperhead, I think as usual it will get just a little bit colder here — forecast is 43° for the lowest, which might mean 40°F actual. I brought my pepper and eggplant seedlings that have been hardening off back in the garage, though I’ve left the tomatoes outside tonight .... they are drowning in their trays since I couldn’t get out to dump out the rainwater, so I have my work cut out for me in the morning.

[Vanisle_BC]

In another thread, Applestar said "It got too hot all of a sudden, and I haven’t had the chance to build up my endurance."

Hereabouts early May got astonishingly hot. I put my tomatoes out a full 3 weeks early. Two days ago the temp hit 35C; now today it's 10! That's a 48hr drop of about 45F, from 95 down to 50.

Luckily the 10-day forecast overnights don't get below 6C so the tomats will survive, but sulk; so will I.

[Gary350]

Just like I expected 6 months of none stop rain has stopped, now it is time for 4 months sunny hot blistering weather with no rain.

[digitS']

Days of wind after a torrential rain ...

The soil off the nearby, winter sledding hill - washed downhill into the paved road. There is all manner of dirt and rocks on the pavement and a big gully that will be very difficult for the neighborhood kids to avoid on their sleds. I suppose that the road department will clean up one but not the other.

Braved the wind for some garden work, yesterday. I don't know what is more challenging out there: unexpected spring heat or wind gusts and temperatures in the 60's. I doubt if I adjusted to the heat that is now receding into memory. Wind - I just lean into it ...

Steve

[imafan26]

It is 70 degrees now, but the humidity is 87%, so I am swimming in sweat. The plants don't mind it, but now, I cannot miss a day of watering. It is supposed to be raining somewhere, it just is not raining here at the moment. Tomorrow it will get up to about 88 degrees.

This is a good time of the year to hit the beach or go to the mall. It isn't all that hot yet, and it would not be so bad if the trades were turned on.

[applestar]

It sounds like summer @imafan.

We had 90°F weather for two days, then the temperature plummeted to 50’s overnight yesterday morning. But I got careless —

I asked my DD’s to start helping to get all the plants out of the house so we are not wasting electricity and generating heat with the plant lights now that it’s warm and getting hot. So yesterday, DD1 managed to empty the Winter Wonderland plant area containing all the orchids and pineapples, as well as lime and other most cold sensitive “tropical” plants, and put them all outside in the shaded acclimating areas.

This morning, I woke up at dawn to realize it had gone down to 44°F !

[digitS']

Just this morning, we passed the time when I was seeing 44°F on the hoop house thermometer. Seemed stuck on hitting that number for about a week.

The greenhouse was showing 51° yesterday, the first morning I have not had the furnace on lately. I wouldn't necessarily have panicked if I'd seen those numbers earlier in its season but would have imagined that the furnace had failed ... Not much in there except some basil and late-started cucumbers. Oh yeah, ginger roots in pots and lemongrass .

Steve

[pepperhead212]

For lows, it's staying in the mid 50s, or warmer, at my place, and getting into the ups the last couple of days, after some high 80s the two days before that! The tomatoes loved that, and many are 2-2 1/2', with open blossoms on most of them. This looks like the earliest tomato year I will have ever had.

Due to these early blossoms, I haven't noticed many pollinators out there yet, so I've been buzzing the blossoms, and, while doing the tomatoes, I also buzzed a bunch of tomatillo blossoms (those plants are even taller than the tomatoes!), but this made me remember a discusion somewhere about tomatillos. While some said that they needed two plants to produce, others said that they just grew one every year, with no problem. When I researched this, sources said that the plants are "very self-incompatible". So maybe some varieties can maybe self pollenate, but most can't, and this is why some haven't had problems with one plant, while others have. Fortunately, I always have 2 plants! Maybe I'll take a Q-tip out tomorrow, to use on these, just in case.

[applestar]

That sounds great @pepperhead212 I’m late planting my tomatoes (and peppers and eggplants) now. I’m late with everything, between the wacky weather, TRULY lousy spring allergy season, and putting priority on the pond project.

You’ve grown tomatillos before, right? My 3 tomatillo plants were a FAIL last year — 2 plants got decimated by some pests — fleabeetles first, then some kind of disease — maybe vector via fleabeetles or possibly the rare around here thrips? — then mites, then something else - likely the other kind of potato beetles (not Colorado.... can’t remember the ID). One completely dead. 2nd one tried to come back and help pollinate the remaining one that was growing, but they never set fruit — last try of 3 or 4 buds/possibly pollinated/set tiny lanterns got frost-blasted at the end. (Not trying this year, but maybe will regroup and try growing them again next year.)

[pepperhead212]

@applestar, Tomatillos is one of those things I spray with Surround, to keep flea beetles and other pests off. I just sprayed everything this evening, after that superheavy rain earlier, that washed most of it off. I can't think of anything my tomatillos have ever come down with, even before I started with the surround. I remember that something would bite a few small holes in the leaves, but they never stopped growing! Maybe those were from flea beetles, but I never had the damage done to tomatillos that I had done to eggplants, if that's what the problem was. So spraying the surround on the tomatillos was sort of an afterthought, spraying them because they were in between the tomatoes and EP. But I immediately saw those small holes stopped appearing, until later in the season when I stopped hitting all of the leaves with the surround.

[Gary350]

It is 12 noon an 98 degrees already, I bet it gets to 100 today. Wow this is early hot weather not even June yet. No rain in 2 1/2 weeks garden sure could use a very hard afternoon shower for 15 minutes. We had 6 months of none stop rain I wish I could save some of that rain to release in this hot desert weather. I am not watering my garden it has established roots it should be ok but newly planted corn and beans might suffer.

Update. 12:55 pm it is 100 degrees.

[applestar]

I nearly passed out from heat exhaustion yesterday and had to quit before completing all tasks I had set out to do....

...It was 53°F this morning and it"s supposed to get down to 48°F tomorrow morning. Crazy weather.

[Nobody]

It was 65% when I got up this morning. Supposed to be in the 70 to 80 during the day for the next week and 60 at night. with scattered thunderstorms every day for the next week. I really don't need more rain right now.

[applestar]

...as it turns out, today was the only day my girls could work together to take out almost all of my tropical/cold sensitive plants — that had been languishing in the house way past time to go outside for the season.

... did I mention the overnight forecast is 48°F .... (oh well)

[applestar]

Ha! 4:51 am Currently 45°F ...crazier yet... tomorrow’s high forecast is 88° F

[gumbo2176]

Ha! 4:51 am Currently 45°F ...crazier yet... tomorrow’s high forecast is 88° F

What I'd give for some of that 45 degree weather about now. It's been getting into the low to mid 90's for days now and after all that rain in the late fall/early spring------nothing to speak of for weeks now. Just a little sprinkle here and there with no effect on the garden since it barely dampens the top layer of soil. My water bill last month was $130...………...

[Gary350]

No rain in 25 days.

[Nobody]

Rain, rain, rain and more rain. We get a day or two that's dry then more rain. I'd send you all some if I could.

[digitS']

The temperature was down to 41°f this morning and a windy week continues. Plants in my very exposed garden must be suffering a bit.

My Protected Growing: after a windy day and overnight, the unheated hoop house was 41°f, just the same as the outdoors. ! We are coming up to our shortest night of the year - here, right at 8 hours of darkness. Overnight, the temperature dropped inside that plastic film like a stone. It was okay for the plants growing in there, I suppose.

The greenhouse (sunshed) fared better. No heat in there, either, but it has the concrete foundation, insulated north wall and roof holding some heat. The furnace in the 9' x 20' structure hasn't been on for a couple of weeks. The greenhouse thermometer said 51°.

Next week is supposed to be much warmer. "Near 90°, Wednesday" the WS says. Dang! Adapt and Adjust? I'll try ...

Steve

[pepperhead212]

How did you fare in this weather, @apple? Here, it totaled at 3.13" yesterday, after the 1.7" in the early morning, and the rain was coming down HARD, the second time, around 7:30 pm! It may have the first time, too, but I was asleep! lol And on the late news I found out that I was lucky - in Wenonah, about 3 miles down the road, they had a funnel cloud, and in Mullica Hill, there was a confirmed tornado, about 10 miles away, in that second storm. Hopefully, everyone else in that line it came up from was lucky, too.