cold front

Sprinkles, not rain

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I suppose you could call it rain if it’s moisture that comes down from the sky. But let’s face it, it you get less than a tenth of an inch, it’s not much precipitation. So last night was not much precipitation. We got all of 0.09 inches of rain last night. Today, and its afternoon and clouds are breaking up, we have gotten 0.22 inches, less than a quarter of an inch. Even added together it’s not much rain.

One thing of interest. This morning I noticed the recycle bin had fallen over, as if wind had pushed it over. I didn’t think much of it at the time. But this morning on Nextdoor there was a post about some straight line winds. Apparently the winds caused damage to a flea market near Belton. They were felt in the north side of Temple. I don’t know how much damage actually happened. But it does seem as if winds have occurred.

I’m noting this since I haven’t heard of straight line winds here this time of year before.

The only other good thing about our weather change today was a cold front came in. Today started with temperatures in the 70’s, but dropped into the upper 50’s. It felt good to take Linus out for a walk this morning. And this evening its expected to drop temperatures again. The forecast even has a low of mid 30’s later this week. But our days are still up in the high 70’s, even 80 degrees. So nothing quite like last year. Last year we got a lot of rain, but not this year. We could still use some rain, but when it might happen is anybody’s guess.

It is cold out there

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Yes, the cold front did come in! And it is here! WOOOOOOO

Since this morning we’ve been sitting at a nice balmy 39 degrees, with some light rain, and definite wind. Baby, it’s cold outside.

Surprisingly, the actually forecasts haven’t changed that much. They are still forecasting a high of 48 with a low of 34 tonight. Not that much different than what they had said before. And the next two days are highs of mid 50’s with both nights a low of 29. So it is definitely cold. The rain is only forecast for this morning, then it should be sunny days.

But we did get a cold front. And with the wind outside jackets are required. I’m not talking jackets are just a nice idea, the wind child is a cold 29 out there. Anybody that can not get out of the wind and doesn’t have a jacket is in trouble. This will last a couple of days so if you are outside the next couple of day, take care and dress appropriately.

And depending on which are you are in, some areas are looking at freezes, not surprising.

Rain!

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The gods have smiled down on us. We have gotten some rain. Not a lot mind you, but we had just over an inch or rain here just the other day. And to make it nicer, the temperatures have been cooler too. And we have possibly more rain due here in the next few days (we shall see if that happens). How’s that for good weather.

The cool and wet weather has been a boon to the plants. I had some dead spots in my lawn, and the grass seed I put down has begun to sprout. Areas of my yard plants that I had trimmed, they show new growth. What passes for real autumn has begun to shows itself in the area. It’s amazing what a few degrees of cooler temperatures can do for plants. As I write this, it is mid afternoon, 82 degrees with 78% humidity (I did mention more rain).

And to make the weather even more interesting, next week, actually beginning on Sunday we should get our first real cold front. This coming Sunday, just before Halloween, we should reach a high of 75 then drop down to a cool 37 degrees. And next Monday that cold front should continue with a high of 45 and a low of 37, with Tuesday Halloween Day having a high (wait for it…….) of 51 with a low of 34!! Ladies and gentlemen, get out your coats!

Will we get trick or treater’s that night? Well, that remains to be seen. Hopefully we will get some.

The cold will not last too long. By the end of next week, the first weekend of November, we should be back to the mid 70’s for highs and lows of mid 50’s.

But this is the first signal to get ready for cold and winter. We shall see what we get this season.

Another cold front

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Today we have a love high of 85 degrees. Its was a warm day, no sweater needed. And yet tonight we should drop to 36 degrees. Here in Austin they are calling for a cold front over the next few days. Dallas, a bit north of us, is looking to get freezing rain. We don’t expect that here. Well, we are looking to drop down to 29 tomorrow, and dropping to 30 Thursday evening.

We are also looking at some rain possible tomorrow evening. It could start with showers around 4pm, and the temperatures will still be above freezing. But by 7pm, it may be down to freezing and turn to freezing rain. That is yet to be seen. But the precipitation shouldn’t last long, it should be over by 10pm.

Its possible Thursday early morning (think just after midnight) we could get more freezing rain. But my mid morning we should be back above freezing so any precipitation should revert back to liquid rain. Let’s hope they are right.

More cold

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Yesterday we had warm 70+ degree weather. Tonight we have a cold front. Its now 11pm and 32 degrees already. We are forecast for a low of 26, and we might just make that. And yet, tomorrow we should be a high of 52 and low is in the 40’s. And possibly Saturday we may actually get rain. Which mean any plants that are covered need to be uncovered and be allowed to get some rain. Next week we should be back into the 60’s during the day. With any luck we might even get rain a few days next week.

Let’s hope for good weather, even if somewhat warmish weather for January. December was warm, about 11 degrees above normal warm. We’ll see how warm January ends up being.

First freeze

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Today we hit a lovely 77 degrees. Though it was a bit humid, it was overall not a bad day outside. I even took my dog out for a nice walk outside.

Tomorrow should be another similar day, warm with a high of possibly 80 degrees. And the evening will be a cool low 50’s.

But typical Texas Saturday we expect a cold front to come in. The daytime temperature will drop to just below 60, with a low expected to be 32. It will be our first freeze of the season here in this area.

Now part of what makes this one of the joys and challenges of gardening here, is it was just the other week I turned the raised beds outside. Why turn them, because the weather had been warm. After turning the beds I sowed seeds. The bak choi and lettuce are already coming up. The bell peppers I transplanted (moved) and the bean plants I moved have taken well to their new homes and have been flourishing. Since I still have pepper plants, and tomato plants in pots and in the ground outside, I will need to see about covering them somehow. I will also plan to move those potted plants on my deck to a more covered area.

But don’t worry. In typical Central Texas style even though Saturday will be cool, by the following Tuesday we will be back into the high 70, then 80’s on Wednesday.

I expect the quick cool down then lovely warm up will lead to some lovely cedar pollen counts. Gotta love Texas.

FROST!!

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We finally have our first real cold snap. Our temperatures have dropped from the 70’s down to low to mid 50’s. And tonight (YEAH!) we should get down somewhere just below freezing. I’ve seen the temperature for tonight rated as anywhere from 27-30, so we’ll just have to see where it gets. But we are due for a cold snap. Since we got rain over the weekend, just shy of 1″ here at the house, we’ve had time to dry out. So I don’t expect a lot of icy roads tomorrow, but it could happen.

In preparation I have covered plants. I have not covered my swiss chard nor my lettuce. I did cover the squash coming up and all the citrus trees. We did get some light wind over the weekend, after I had covered the squash. I ended up putting pieces of wood to help hold down the plankets (you know those plant blankets they sell, more like thin flexible paper than blankets). But I have high hopes for the squash surviving. We’re shooting for a high of 53 here, but by 10pm the temperatures should have already fallen down to mid 30’s.

I’ve also moved plants that were outside on the deck close to the house. Since the area close to the house is covered and sheltered, it does keep a few degrees warmer than out in the open. Its will get chilly, but not quite as cold as those plants out in the yard. Obviously these are plants in pots, including some succulents and my tomatoes.

I will say, I do miss the weather station set up we had at the old house. I may have to figure out how to set up something that will give me that same amount of information. That system showed me the changes in 5 minute increments, so I knew how quickly temperatures dropped. But of course, when we moved, we couldn’t easily move that.

Let’s see what tonight’s weather brings.

UPDATE: its 10:45 pm and it is already 31 degrees outside. It will be a cold night for Austin.

We got rain!

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Well its been rain, sun, and rain, and rain and run.

One day we got half an inch in a downpour. Then the next day we got another half an inch. Then a full inch of rain. Today we hit a lovely 88, I even took the dogs out for a walk. It was lovely. The sun has been out, its been a little bit humid, but not as oppressive as we’ve known.

Its just about 4:30 and it is pouring outside. Once it stops raining I’ll go see how much rain we got. It should be just a short shower, it was sunny and its still rather bright right now, even though its raining.

To give you an idea of how much rain we’ve had, some areas over 6″ of rain (couldn’t find data, sorry). That’s what they said on the news.

AND our forecast includes an early cold front.

I’m not sure how often the area of Texas gets a cold front, down to the 60’s in September. It will be interesting to see what we actually get.

But the garden should enjoy this cooler weather. I’ve took the time and put in the additional seed – spinach and lettuce. But the other seeds are doing fine.