"Rain" Showers

Today's forecast from the National Weather Service mentions a chance of "rain showers" tonight. I hate it when they have to start clarifying what type of precipitation to expect in their forecasts. During the summer, a forecast of "showers" implies that said showers will be of the liquid variety because, quite obviously, it doesn't snow during the summer. When the word "rain" precedes the word "showers" in the forecast, it is as sure of a sign as any that winter will soon follow. The next step in this unfortunate transition is to mention "rain or snow showers", followed by the inevitable "snow showers". On the other hand, it is quite uplifting when the sequence is reversed in the spring. It is especially exciting when the word "thunderstorms" is included in the forecast for the first time after a long winter. That's a word we probably won't be seeing much for a few months.

Invisible Rain

The forecast for today was just a little off the mark. Last night at this time, it sounded as if today would be a total wash-out, with a 70% chance of rain. By this morning that chance had slipped to 50%, and by noon it had dwindled to 20%. Needless to say it was 100% dry today, with all of the rain going either north or south of the area. Still a 50% chance of rain overnight, but that isn't very promising either.

Cold & Cloudy

Cold, cloudy, and windy today, with the temperature barely above 50 degrees. The first frost of the season could develop in some locales tonight, but only if the clouds dissipate and the winds diminish. It is a little early for the first frost, which usually doesn't occur until the last week in September or first week in October. Other than that, not much going on in the world of weather. A typically tranquil late summer/early fall pattern has settled in, at least for a few days.

Fall is Here

The weather of late has been very fall-like. The temperature has not risen above 60 degrees since late Friday, the sun has been obscured by thick cloud cover, and it rained for about 36 consecutive hours, beginning Sunday morning and not ending until this evening. The total in my rain gauge was 2.97 inches, and amounts of two to three inches were common. Other area totals include 3.07 inches in Readstown, 2.86 inches in Westby, 2.55 inches in Ontario, and 2.41 inches in Hillsboro. This was a good soaking rain, which should be quite beneficial as we head into the typically drier fall months. It's a good thing this wasn't November or December, or we would likely be shoveling out from several inches of snow. A little too early to think about that yet...