Yup... two big snowstorms already.  It was 26 degrees at night during hunting season 3 weeks ago.  Which was actually warmer than my 2009 hunt...

I don't look forward to snow, we don't get it very often so we don't have proper equipment for it.

I bought a new snow shovel for the cabin the other day. I had looked around but never saw any, so I asked at my local True Value hardware. That had them, About 30 or so.  People in the desert don't usually buy them until right after the snow storm. 

Don I have a few extras if you need one.  On second thought I had better keep them in case this year is anything like last.

At the cabin, 17 of the past 24 hours were below freezing.  Brrrrr!

Quote from: MountainDon on October 26, 2010, 05:13:25 PM
At the cabin, 17 of the past 24 hours were below freezing.  Brrrrr!

WOW!
I guess I should'nt be complaining about rain and 70 degrees.
How long is your winter on average MountainDon?

How long is winter? In the mountains around the cabin... from about now to March -April. In an average year we can still drive up to the cabin to mid December, with one eye on the weather at all times. By March there will be above freezing daytime temperatures.

Here on the desert mesa today it was below freezing for 2 hours in AM. Been in the 60's most of the day, 59 F right now. We don't really have a winter here on the mesa as far as I am concerned.     More like a long Fall to me.

We took a day of and drove up to the ranch.  It had been raining and we worked in the orchard until dark putting guards around the bases of the young fruit trees.  Went to bed and woke up to four inches of snow.  Put a very full day redoing little bit if fence and rolling up soak-er hose we use in the berries.  Pulled the irrigation pump and drained the irrigation tank and unhooked it from the spring.  Decided that the fifth wheel can stay up there another couple weeks so we just winterized the plumbing. 

Weather lately is real unpredictable.  This past week in the morning it was 26, 46., 38 (snow flurries) then 47 and today it is 27.  Doesn't seem like mother nature can make up her mind whether she wants to go into winter or not.

Quote from: Redoverfarm on November 01, 2010, 06:40:25 AM
Weather lately is real unpredictable.  This past week in the morning it was 26, 46., 38 (snow flurries) then 47 and today it is 27.  Doesn't seem like mother nature can make up her mind whether she wants to go into winter or not.

very true, 78 degrees yesterday, high today around 60

All the evidence I see says someone is fooling with mother nature.

A rock in the pond produces ripples across the entire pond.

Our first night below freezing and it hits 19 degrees. 42 now at 9:30 and will probably get to 65 or better before days end, 40 or 50 degree temp. swings being common here.

to the desert! 

Quote from: dug on November 10, 2010, 11:27:02 AM
Our first night below freezing and it hits 19 degrees. 42 now at 9:30 and will probably get to 65 or better before days end, 40 or 50 degree temp. swings being common here.

to the desert! 

dug thats motivation to work inside the new house!

Cabin: 15 hours out of last 24 below freezing, low of 16 there

Home: 6 hours out of last 24 below freezing, low of 22

Quotedug thats motivation to work inside the new house!

I'll have even more when I get the rest of my wood stove parts. Should be later this week- just in time!

Does anyone know why the temperature drops a couple of degrees right as the sun is rising? I never noticed this when living in the mid west so maybe it's just a desert thing, but I have noticed that it nearly always cools a few degrees at almost the exact time as sunrise here.   

Quote from: dug on November 10, 2010, 08:27:49 PM

Quotedug thats motivation to work inside the new house!

I'll have even more when I get the rest of my wood stove parts. Should be later this week- just in time!

Does anyone know why the temperature drops a couple of degrees right as the sun is rising? I never noticed this when living in the mid west so maybe it's just a desert thing, but I have noticed that it nearly always cools a few degrees at almost the exact time as sunrise here.   

Same here in the east.  Never really tried to figure it out.  Seems to be just before sunrise here.

Quote from: dug on November 10, 2010, 08:27:49 PM

Does anyone know why the temperature drops a couple of degrees right as the sun is rising? I never noticed this when living in the mid west so maybe it's just a desert thing, but I have noticed that it nearly always cools a few degrees at almost the exact time as sunrise here.  

It only happens when the night sky is clear, not overcast and also we have to discount any cold fronts or mass air changes that may occur. . The temperature drops pretty much all night; no sun rays to cause the temperature to rise, so it drops. The first rays of the sun are weak, not strong enough to overcome the cooling that has been going on. Therefore the temp continues to drop until the sun is strong enough to overcome and reverse the cooling.  Not just the desert, but because we have mostly clear skies we notice it more.

QuoteIt only happens when the night sky is clear, not overcast and also we have to discount any cold fronts or mass air changes that may occur. . The temperature drops pretty much all night; no sun rays to cause the temperature to rise, so it drops. The first rays of the sun are weak, not strong enough to overcome the cooling that has been going on. Therefore the temp continues to drop until the sun is strong enough to overcome and reverse the cooling.  Not just the desert, but because we have mostly clear skies we notice it more.

I guess the reason I notice it here is because we generally always have clear skies. 

I know the earth is a giant thermal mass and holds onto it's coolness (stubbornly at times, I may add) for quite awhile after the sun is up. The temperature drop from the time I go to bed, until I wake up is typically around 10 degrees or less, about 1 degree an hour. I was curious why the drop seemed so pronounced at sunrise but thinking about your explanation may have answered my question. The same thermal mass is holding on to the heat well into the night, so the cooling accelerates as the night wears on and probably peaks somewhere around sun up.

That's my guess anyway. I'd be interested in seeing data that records the temps. hour by hour.

Quote from: dug on November 10, 2010, 10:14:28 PMI'd be interested in seeing data that records the temps. hour by hour.

Ah, your wish is my command... or some such nonsense.     Go Here

Quote from: dug on November 10, 2010, 08:27:49 PM

Quotedug thats motivation to work inside the new house!

I'll have even more when I get the rest of my wood stove parts. Should be later this week- just in time!

Does anyone know why the temperature drops a couple of degrees right as the sun is rising? I never noticed this when living in the mid west so maybe it's just a desert thing, but I have noticed that it nearly always cools a few degrees at almost the exact time as sunrise here.  

If there are no fronts or precipitation nearby, the daily temperature cycle is primarily controlled by the radiation budget. This is a comparison between the incoming radiation from the sun (sunlight) and the terrestrial radiation given off by the earth's surface (felt as heat.) Think of the sunlight shining down on earth as the same as putting pennies into a jar. As long as you keep putting pennies in, the money adds up. In the same way, as long as the sun is shining down on earth, the amount of radiation adds up. Let's say that at some point you decide to stop depositing pennies into the jar and begin to take them out. Even though you're withdrawing pennies, you still may have a lot of money in the jar. Likewise, when the sun goes down, the incoming radiation from the sun stops, but there is still a lot of radiation that has been absorbed by the earth, so we still feel heat near the earth even after the sun goes down. At night, the "withdrawals" of terrestrial radiation continue, and the ground and the air near it cool. Earth's surface is typically in radiation "debt" from a couple of hours before sunset to near sunrise. When the sun comes up and the "deposits" of incoming radiation from the sun equalize with the "withdrawals" of radiation from earth, we get the coolest temperature of the day. Sometimes in winter when the sun is low in the sky, Earth's surface can remain in radiation debt longer, and the coldest temperature of the day can actually occur as much as an hour after sunrise. As the sun gets higher in the sky, earth's surface is in radiation surplus (the deposits exceed withdrawals), so the ground and the air near it warm.

Yes I stole it from a weather site   

45 degrees and dense fog as far as I can see.

58 And misting rain all day today

I'll take sub zero temperatures and 3 feet of snow over unrelenting wind any time. Wind chimes meant to be calming sound alarming and frantic. My dog won't stray more than a foot from my heels. I gave up working inside the house because the gusts hitting the gable wall (50 mph ?, not sure) are too disconcerting, lots of creaks and groans. Makes me glad I built it solidly, but leaves me wishing I had built it even more solid. There is no such thing as overbuilt during times like these.

But at least when our winds die down, they're gone. Not so with snow and sub-zero. I lived in that for too many years; I'll never be nostalgic about the weather back home, nor the shoveling, the frozen tires and shocks, seats that turn to rocks, the need for block heaters, balky diesels....

QuoteInsert Quote
But at least when our winds die down, they're gone. Not so with snow and sub-zero.

You are right about that Don, it's been awhile since I've had to endure a very cold winter. Time erases memories, especially the bad ones. Your post reminded me of when I used to disconnect my car battery every night and bring it inside, otherwise it would never turn over in the morning. I didn't have money for any fancy block heater, probably spent it on beer.

If it was windy all the time though I would still take the cold over the wind, I have trouble even thinking straight when it's real windy. Then of course there's cold and windy...