May 19,
The Weather is Changing
I guess the last time I wrote here, the weather was changing too, from some really wonderful weather to not as nice, which actually was still decent weather. The last few days have been cooler than that pretty warm stretch we had, but we still had a lot of sunshine - more than I would expect. May has been pretty nice all in all - much better than the last couple have been.
But, now it is changing a LOT. This morning started out sunny and bright and it warmed up nicely. The high reached 75! But by early afternoon the change was creeping in, on little cat's paws. High clouds were filtering the sun slowly and now by middle evening, plain gray overcast has settled in. Rain looks possible. But the bigger change will come in tomorrow, when a strong system will arrive, bringing potentially quite a bit of rain and windy weather. The week ahead promises to be much different than May has shown so far. A lot cooler (chance of mountain pass snow!), and considerable rain for late May.
To "prepare", my son and I worked in the yard today. He mowed, I weeded, trimmed, and went around doing this and that. The yard looks very nice, I must say, right now - May is our best yard month anyway, with green grass and freshly blooming flowers, and now with a storm on the way our efforts to tidy up will be frazzled up with wind and water. Oh well. The extended nice string of weather was surely nice while it was here!
May 16, 7 AM
A glorious string of weather is on the wane now. Summer came a lot early for us, at least for a few days! Lots of sunshine and very wonderful temperatures. The string really began last Friday (11th) and improved day by day. Since Friday our highs at home have been: 69, 78, 81, 82, and 79. Full-blown sunshine throughout the run! Such a treat for all, and it all came on such a nice weekend - allowing all the moms to really have what many secretly would love the most - just a day in nice warm/hot sunshine! While I was mostly at home, I heard that the beaches were crazy on Mother's Day, and I'm not one bit surprised. This is the earliest we have had such nice weather in a few springs now. Such a nice change in the weather!
Now no one will want to return to our dismal weather, but it may come soon, like it or not. Today is predicted to be a lot cooler, but the sun is making its way down through thin high clouds, and it is a pleasant morning certainly. Rain showers become possible again in the next day or two. Ugghh. I am ok with them most of the year, but after this glorious tease of weather, I am looking forward to just a long continuous run of it rigt now. I hope it is heading our way and not too far off.
May 9, 8:30 PM
A beautiful, but unusual, sunset is unfolding this evening. Showers have periodically rolled over this afternoon and evening, and currently one of those clouds has moved east of us just a bit, but red sunglow is illuminating it wonderfully. The rest of the sky is our usual gray.
So far .15" rain today. Highs in the mid 60's, but mostly in the upper 50's today. A cool and bit breezy day as a little system is passing, but our best weather of the year so far is promised for the weekend! Looking forward to possibly topping 80! Woo-hoo!
I spent three hours on the phone this afternoon with my daughter working through wedding items. Making progress!
May 2, 9:45 AM
I was going to write about how I felt that April turned out to be a pretty normal month. April is certainly a month in transition, but overall it doesn't really have the strength to get too far. Just like a toddler, it has big ambitions, but doesn't have the maturity, or strength, to successfully pull off the complete split from winter. This April had the usual mix of expected days: warmer and more sunshine than we are used to for the last many months, but also cool and cloudy days, a few nicer days that awaken the possibility of a more permanent change, only to be followed by chilly wet days. Spring winds can erupt at any time, sending cherry blossoms swirling through the air and skittering across the ground, which was the definite case on Monday.
Then I read in this morning's paper that, indeed, April was normal! The stats given in the paper, from the NWS official readings for Seattle, are startling. The average high for the month was only .3 degree variant from normal, the average low was only .6 degree different from normal, and the monthly total rainfall was only .03" less than normal! The month was what we should truly expect the month to be, and in spite of people's wishes for something better, it was what a western Washington April most always is, and I can't argue any other position this time around.
May has arrived and so far is not much different from April. It has been rainy so far, at times. We have totaled .49" rain since May began and it has been chilly and breezy at times. This morning's low was 42 and the sky is behind thick clouds. But signs of brightening in the clouds are evident and the forecast calls for "partly sunny" this afternoon. Yay! Even so, rain is forecast until Sunday and continuing cool. It is not really until the middle of the month when a more serious turn-for-the-better becomes more possible, if not maybe in fact really June. But, again, a mix of most anything is possible in May, so it becomes a fun month to see what may happen. Stay in the 50's and 60's for a few more weeks? Or could some 80's jump up most any day?? We shall see how "normal" this May is.
April in Review
Average High: 63 degrees
Average Low: 42
High Temperature: 78 (4/22)
Low Temperature: 33 (4/7)
Lowest High: 54 (4/1, 4/3)
Wettest Day: April 25 (.47")
Highest Wind Gust: *Incomplete data.
Days of Measurable Rain: 16
Total Rain for April: 2.83"
* Sadly, my anemometer quit working about the middle of April. We have looked into replacement system options, but so far no change has been made, and I don't foresee time for it too soon. It is a priority for me, but I may need to bump it down the list a bit. Isn't that how life goes at times?
May 2
Sunrise: 5:48 AM --- Sunset: 8:23 PM (PDT)
(gaining 2 min, 58 seconds tomorrow)
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Updated: 3:48 AM GMT on May 20, 2012
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