May 31
Cloudy all day and Light Rain
The last day of May and it doesn't seem much like summer is at the doorstep. Another all-day-gray today, and .17" of rain, which took quite awhile to accumulate as it was light. A high of 66, which was pleasant enough. Actually this is pretty typical of May weather.
Such busy times right now, only to increase rapidly over the next couple of weeks. High school prom coming up on Saturday for my youngest daughter, more wedding details and running around for older daughter. Some of it is chasing our tails. But progress too. The invitations are ordered!! I am getting closer to gettng my own dress and accessories together. I think I now just need to try another size or two of the shoes that I received, and like, on order yesterday. Just wish they fit a bit better! A praise is that the bride's shoes, that we ordered sight-unseen from a local shop, seem to fit and she thinks they will work!! Oh, and then to start in on earrings! And bridesmaids accessories! lol!
May 28, 9:20 PM
Memorial Day
A somber day weather-wise today. It has been a heavy overcast day, with some early sprinkles. But mostly just a cloudy day.
A busy weekend is passing. Our one outing of the weekend was a day trip on Saturday to central Washington, to the Ellensburg area. We toured a "wind farm" with 149 turbines on ridgetops, and although not that great of weather that day, it was a fun trip and tour. We also visited a state park that is protecting a farm from 1875 that was so pretty and enchanting to visit. Beautiful country gardens, preserved farm buildings, and set among currently working farm fields. I will post some photos soon, hopefully. Otherwise wedding invitations were the topic of the last couple of days, on a quick visit home by my daughter. Plus a major tree-trimming project by Mr. PSP. Lots going on and overall, not too much Memorial Day weekend-esque at our house.
May 24, 7:45 PM
Rainy Week
Much of this week has rained, in downpours at times, or threatened rain, although the sun came our surprisingly bright this afternoon. Since Sunday we have received exactly 1.50" rain. The temp has stayed in the low 60's for highs.
Exactly 100 days until the wedding! Kind of a scary realization!
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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What a great opening line, or rather opening paragraph. Very descriptive, yet poetic.
Had to look up what anemometer means. Just shows you what I don't know about weather. I only have a simple plastic rain gauge and old-fashioned thermometer with extra hands to show what the highest and lowest temps of the day were. For wind speeds, I just go to the nearest WU weather station to find out what they recorded.
Our local windsock was recently taken down and replaced by an automated system. I wish the windsock were back because I looked at it everyday when I drove by on my way home from school. Just part of my routine to glance at the orange sock flying high as I headed to my driveway. Never thought about it a whole lot until it was gone...like many things in life.
Not feeling too peppy this evening. A dental appt this morning really seemed to wallop me for today. The extra numbing doses I got on both sides of my mouth for two fillings has proven hard to recover from today. I think the feeling is finally back, only to uncover a sore/achy mouth.
Hi Briar: We have had a nice electronic weather system for many years now. When it was new, it was quite dandy. This is our second anemometer we have had. But, technology has moved way ahead of us now, and the systems on the market are pretty spiffy these days. We will probably upgrade in the nearish future. Having good equipment, giving good data, has always been a priority for me. But the simplicity of your equipment has appeal too. Nothing really to break down and less to worry and wonder about!
Jane: I, too, would miss the daily glance at the windsock! Related to the paragraph above, something as simple as a windsock blowing tells a lot of information - without anything breaking or scientific interpretation. A lot of value in simplifying our lives these days too!
I enjoyed the story about the Ketchikan soccer team parents thinking your weather was too cold! Did SE Alaska have as rough a winter as your area? I hope it is warming again - sure is here, at least today! Last week was pretty wet, but the weekend showed improvement and today was sunny and 79 for a high! A perfect day, really. We have been hitting our yard hard - mowing, trimming, planting a garden (with a lot of overhaul of our soil)(and actually my youngest daughter is taking charge of the garden in all ways this year - I am just doing flowers) and I have been busy with flower planting and potting, as well as getting some of our deck furniture cleaned and set up. Our deck has been greatly transformed for the coming summer and it was nice to sit out on it this afternoon. This is a great yard time of year - the flowers are fresh and vibrant, the grass is green, and the azaleas and rhododendrons are coming into prime season.
I would love to see some pics of your soccer field! It is likely very hard for most of us "lower 48-ers" to imagine the snow-ringed field this late in the year!
Tulip Time has so far been a rain festival. Tourists were garbed in heavy coats and umbrellas yesterday. It has been very wet and chilly. Parade day for the children on Thursday promises to be sunny. I read about a Tulip Festival in Washington State - I imagine that has a better chance of good weather. Plan to go to some of the festivities on Thursday - I'll take pics.
I am really looking forward to alaska this year, I miss that little grandson of mine!
It sounds like you are in full spring-to-summer transition now that you've got the deck furniture cleaned up and ready to enjoy. Mowing, trimming, planting just in time to enjoy a summerish weekend ahead. Enjoy!
Looks like we've got a few days of light rain ahead. Strange to think that plants were really getting thirsty and now appreciate the rain. I had to get out some hoses last week and water the flower beds.
Congrats on all the graduations, sounds like a busy summer!
What's this I hear about a tiger running around up there?
Drizzly and cool here (mid 50s!). I wish the drizzle was measurable, let alone 1.5"! Ah well, winter is coming :)
http://mynorthwest.com/11/683313/Everyone-sees-str ipes-after-tiger-reported-on-the-loose
For the most part today has been a nice late spring day. But this evening some isolated storms were in the area, including one zippy storm that went over us - strong gusty winds, and brief rain. Kind of exciting!
At least you got some drizzle!
Have a lovely Memorial Day. Hot and humid here in Michigan. Keep the wedding countdown going for us...such a fun time for Mom and daughter!
Nothing nearly as interesting going on here. I clipped grass around all my berry plants, which took 5 days with my new long-handled Fiskars grass clippers. My biggest news is DH planted 3 tomato and 4 pepper plants for me. I also poked a few zucchini and cucumber seeds into the ground. The only other edible thing I'm growing this year is basil, but it's still too cool to set out.
This is the last week of school. The teachers have a potluck on Friday afternoon to celebrate the close of another school year. The weather has been cool and damp lately - but it seems to be improving as the week begins. Field day for the students on Tuesday afternoon - hopefully the sun will shine a bit for that annual occasion.
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