Weather Report 

from Central Texas

by Nita Holstine

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May 15, 2003

  This week marks one year that I have been making notes in this Journal of Weather. Starting next week, the new notes will go onto a new page. It is so nice not to be the only one keeping notes. I enjoy looking back and seeing just how bad or good the past seasons really were. I like griping about how hot or how cold or how windy or how dry or how wet it has been. I enjoy seeing how much rain they have down on the Texas Gulf coast during the winter months, and reading about how little snowfall there was in most areas of the Northwest United States during the past season. Last winter we missed all the hail storms and there were few tornadoes. This winter, we caught the worst of the hail and the massive storms spawned a huge number of twisters causing damage again in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where they struck with great force just 4 years earlier. They were much more prepared and no lives were lost. But the storms moved on North and East without looking back.

  I could not possibly be making progress fast enough on the garden. The weather has been perfect so that is no excuse for not being finished. We had about 3 inches of rain early this week but already most plants are needing more water. We've had some cloudy days but the afternoons clear off and our temps get up into the upper 90's. Tuesday we officially hit 100 for the first time this year. To afford the extra electricity for the air conditioner, I go around turning everything off that is not needed. This may be a very long summer.

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May 09, 2003

  The weather has still been in the upper 50's and lower 60's at night but the days are up into the middle 90's. We had a monster hailstorm on Wednesday. Many areas got much worse than we did. There were several tornadoes and the winds were up to 80 mph. Most brutal. Lots of area damage. We did get about 3 inches of rain but it was sure scary. Most of the hail we got was pea to 1 inch size. But there was a good bit of up to 3 inches in diameter; not that they are very round when they get that bit. It's more like a bunch of smaller round stones frozen together. It started heavy so quick that we had no chance to get out and cover the truck windshield or any plants. We told Max to get inside his house and he did. It stays dry and is plenty big enough for him. This is our storm season and this is where the evil troublemakers form and by the time the get to Oklahoma, they are spinning out some really bad tornadoes. The ones seen in this area were not touching the ground, just going back into the clouds (extra tall and extra dark) and perhaps putting down another funnel a little further on.

  My computer went weird and made all my FrontPage files just disappear. Everything saved went where it should be but I'd just finished a long addition to the Wildbird Sightings Notes Section and I may not get back to it today. The local radar is showing some extremely threatening storms moving this direction. Storms with the circular patterns within will usually continue to follow a somewhat circular path. But the plans now call for me to make my rounds of outdoor chores and secure anything that could be blown away or injured by more hail. I have plenty of empty gallon jugs to cover each tomato plant as they are planted out. 

  What beautiful weather we've had. The storms have missed us and that's no rain but also no hail. I am very slowly getting gardens ready. It would go fast if the beds were already tilled but they must all be turned by hand with shovel. Weeds are picked out by hand. Back breaking to say the least. We've had a north wind but nothing to keep us but in the upper 80's to low 90's.

  It's all I can do to make myself stay indoors and work on the newsletter instead of being out and working in the soil. Many of the almost rainstorms came with extremely high winds and we gladly miss out on the worse of those as well. I'm still picking up things that have blown around the yard and need to be returned or thrown away.

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April 22, 2003

  I heard that dreaded "h" word in the weather forecast this morning. Just a chance of hail. But this is the season for hail that will flatten all of the garden in just a few minutes. It was nice to know that the rumbling was not the continuing noise of the bombers but rather that product of Mother Nature known as thunder. We even got a little rain with more storms forming behind it dancing through every few hours. They say it could continue for several more days. It's when the front from the west collides with the moist gulf air. That's our spring time. 

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 April 16, 2003

  We are finally past the point of freak blizzards. Now we must protect all the baby plants from the mean winds. Last night they were measuring the gusts as hitting 52 miles per hour. Places in West Texas were getting over 80 mph. Not a good thing. I have learned to keep scraps of materials around so I can make simple temporary wind blocks. 

  We are forecast to have a few days of cooler weather, lows in the upper 40's and highs only in the mid 70's. That's cooler. We've been having near 85 every day with maybe 65 at night. The moths and flies have been bad but since the first baby grasshopper I saw, I've not seen another.

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April 11, 2003

  The freezing earlier this week lasted only a few hours and our days have been clear and warmer every day. Even the oak trees were damaged by the cold freezing several weeks ago. The reports from around the country show new fronts continuing to move through. We've had no real rain and the mission this afternoon is to keep a sprinkler going. Even the hummingbirds love to take a shower on a hot day. The late freezes don't seem to bother even the little birds. 

  There are few grass seeds for the birds to forage. The grasshoppers of last season made sure there was nothing left over. It's odd but the blue jays are still around and active. Usually they have disappeared for the season but not this summer. I figured they moved to a cooler climate. I have heard tales of them staying around in the cities but it may be that they just spend a lot more time in their nests. 

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April 4, 2003

  The cold front pushing its way south may be more than is feared but we'll hope for no colder than 45 or so. The brave and probably fool hardy have already put out their tender plants. Mine are still protected at night but the time is drawing close for all good plantlings to go out to the garden. 

  We had a brief shower yesterday morning but it was no more than a trace. I have started watering again but the wind has been terrific. The asparagus needed to have been covered with about 6 inches of composted material. Oops ! They are not doing well. 

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March 28, 2003

  Today we hit 90 degrees but that's just the push before the next cold front hits this evening. Already the wind has changed to coming from the North. We're forecast for freezing Friday and Saturday nights and warnings for gardeners to bring in their tender plants. My little onions keep coming back but get frozen and die back. 

  There is no rain in the forecast so I had started some watering yesterday while the wind wasn't so bad. Today it is bad and worse the next few days since it will also be cold.

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March 19, 2003

  We've had such mild temps that it's not easy to remember that it's dangerous to set out any plants yet. The Ides of March are indeed upon us. A weak cold front meets the humid air and the 40 mph winds create the precipitation we call flying mud balls. Even with the cold front, we have no forecast lows below 42 and the highs are in the mid 60's. Nice and mild. No Denver blizzard and they could just keep it all. Thank you very much.  

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March 14, 2003

  It's been a week since the surprise freeze, and the daffodils and other pretty bulbs didn't recover very well. I watered yesterday and the daylilies are looking 3 times better already. We have little chance of rain in the forecast so I have started back to watering everything. The yard grass is not greening up at all yet. 

  I am slowly making progress on the garden now that we have good weather. I cannot possible go fast enough. There are not enough hours in a day.

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March 7, 2003

  We had a surprise freeze night before last. Forecast 40 was down to 24 and took most of yesterday to thaw out. We don't even dare to hope for no more freezes until the middle of April. The oak trees are swollen with buds and just ready to pop open. The pretty flowers on the pictures which were at the top of this page were frozen and not as pretty as in years past. The daffodil is laying on the ground. None of the iris have started putting out flower stalks but they are very late to bloom.

  It is difficult on days like this to remember this is not spring yet. It's is 75 easily and hot. The fan is running and the sun is so hot I can stand only a little bit at a time. But the progress on the garden fence is coming along nicely.

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February 11, 2003

  Our days are nice at about 60 to 65 degrees F. every day with lows just above freezing. An occasional freeze but nothing sustained. The onions are coming back from last season's grasshopper devastation. None of the giant garlic came back but all the six year ago garlic has returned. They are a lousy variety not worth the effort of working with. The onions coming back are now no where near a working water hose. The early rains have dried up and they need lots of deep watering and some fertilizing as well.

  Everyone is getting really tired of the cold weather especially those where they haven't been above 40 in a long, long time. I will see if I can get our friend Leonie to write about how warm it is in her season of summer.

  Last week, we watched as snow storms moved across the state. They moved south of us and never got very close. Seems as all the moisture was down south and we stayed dry, very dry. Crackle. I've had to start watering the plant life. It's been too long since we've had a good soaking rain. Our only forecast moisture says 1/2 inch if we're lucky. 

  I had to accept that the soaker hoses springing so many leaks had to be due to the moles chewing through. They were all new hoses and the only one that lasted the season was an older hose, buried very deep and I am not sure it really works well anymore. It would take lots of doing to dig up the hose and check. From now on, all soaker hoses will be above ground for necessary repairs. No more of this digging up the entire bed to fix one leak that will be worse in a weeks time. 

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January 3, 2003

  We are having incredibly beautiful weather. Everyday we reach about 60 and nights are right at freezing. Forecast says it will last through next Thursday when we might get a little rain. 

  It was 82 in the hallway, turned on the fan and opened the bathroom window. That brought it down to 76 and most comfortable real quick. As the sun starts getting low, the air cools real fast. The clear skies allow the temps to really drop at night.  

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December 26, 2002

  Here we are watching the reports on the national news as more areas in the Northeast are covered with up to 3 feet of snow. We had a light dusting on Tuesday but it didn't stay on the ground. Even now, we are forecast to stay with a warming trend through the weekend. We had enough rain to not need to water the pine trees. Our night temps have been down to 22 with a few just above freezing. Tomorrow is promised to be near 60°F. Even Wanda reported a good snowfall. 

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December 18, 2002

  We have had a beautiful week with highs in the 70's or near (F). A few sprinkles of rain yesterday evening and early this morning. We could tell when the front moved through last night. Big gusts of wind making the trees whip around lashing at everything in their way. Instant headache from the new dust. We often call it, Lubbock (Texas) is in the Air and sing it to a certain tune as we cough and sneeze. But it just means that our wind is from the North.

  Today will be spent inside working on Christmas presents. Tomorrow is the last day to send anything that might stand a slight chance of being delivered on time. I have one birthday to send a present for that falls two days after Christmas. Must hurry !

  Christmas week, and the winter solstice, mark the beginning of our really bad weather. Sometimes we're hit by almost 2 weeks of never getting above freezing and this would be the time. Often travelers are stranded and must wait to return after the holiday. This year it falls on a Wednesday and means there is only one day off. Our only traveling will be done the Saturday before and any extra time with the g-kiddo will come after the new year sometime. 

  This also means we approach the shortest day of the year before we start back the other way. Our chickens don't want to lay eggs and I am again tempted to leave their light on 24/7. Even on days with lots of cold north wind, they have plenty of outdoor space to scratch around in; never do they have to stay indoors all day long. 

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November 13, 2002

  We are having beautiful weather. Highs 65 to 75 and right at freezing most every night. A few warm days and the temp falls a bit. We haven't had any rain since last Tuesday. We have had few clouds in fact just lots and lots of sunshine.

  We can hope the good weather holds out through Thanksgiving and there will be some good time for working on the Shop. Progress would be good. Dry plywood would be good, too. 

  Last week, we had one day of sunshine. Today is the first day since then. This was making 3 weeks with only that one day. The geraniums are white. And dying. Along with the clear skies we have strong North winds that cut right through you. Last night we had a 39° with a wind chill of 36. The forecast for the next few nights says that it could be a light freeze. A frost they call it. It is hot enough this afternoon to shed the jacket and heavy sweats. Not a cloud in the sky. It's hot enough to turn the little fan on to cool down the house. It is raining yellow leaves. Cool. We haven't had this many hours without rain in the entire three weeks. There is still water standing everywhere but there is no longer that feeling of saturated air where the mist is so thick you'd think this was jolly old England. 

  We are in our third week of heavy clouds with no sunshine. Okay, we had one day of clear skies. Yesterday was dry but today has been a moderate to heavy rain all day long. The almost dry chicken yard is muck with an inch of rainwater standing on top of the muck. I was inspired to change the sunny picture at the top to a rainy scene. The forecast says this will continue for another week. 

  Between this past Tuesday and today, Thursday, we've had another 6 inches of rain. The ground is beginning to grow moss and algae. I had to put down some old roofing material just to walk through the chicken yard, so I wouldn't sink. What a mess. I will not need to water the evergreen trees after all. This is so much better than I could do with a water hose. 

  The leaves on the oak trees are changing colors. From a distance you don't really see much change. Then I noticed that under the canopy, the leaves are yellow and light green. Looking across a line of trees, I see some with lots more yellow than others. The red that we get comes later and not on most of the trees at all. I believe it has something to do with the temps. We've not had a freeze yet but the leaves start anyway. We may get more red color in the years when we get an early freeze. Sure seems so and the trees never all lose their leaves at the same time. There are always about 1/4 of the trees that don't drop their leaves until the next spring when the new growth is emerging. The leaves are brown and tan but don't fall. Odd sight to say the least. The trees that do get a beautiful red coloring are usually the newest scrub growth. They do the same in the spring but they take on a light green and pink coloring. Very nice. 

October 21, 2002

  This past Friday and Saturday brought us about 6 inches of rain. Have to make the rounds to dump out the standing water. We are still warm enough that the mosquitoes keep hatching out with any water that stands mover than a day or two. There are still a dozen small tomatoes yet on the vine but they don't look to be growing much. Yesterday and today both have been cold and cloudy.

  Max, the puppy, and I went on a long walk through the back woods this morning early. Sure am glad we went early since the wind has picked up strong and it is really cold now. We had enough sunshine yesterday afternoon to make all the wasp and flies hatch out and swarm everywhere. We're forecast for much of the same with little more change of rain. Daylight Savings Time will end and our days will seem so very short. Nights will seem endless, and so is the nature of our winter. 

  The time and temp is saying 50 degrees and it is sure chilly this morning. But the TV weather guy is saying it is officially 42°F. Doesn't look like (or sound like) there is any wind and the oven has taken off the cold so it is quite comfortable inside. There was little wind yesterday so I was able to get out and do a lot of work on the stupid dog's yard (yeah, Max) to get it completely redone. He has discovered that with enough worry, he can tear up what I've patched and get out easily. I could see where he'd squeezed out the gate and left a chunk of his fur behind. Clues at the scene. 

  As soon as I get the yard finished, I want to do some work on Max's yard. Much to clean up and make tidy. The best I can do for the winter is to get things neat and let the blue jays and the cardinals do the decorating. 

  The front did finally hit this morning. We'd been hot and it didn't cool off overnight. The skies have been heavy clouds or raining all day long. The front earlier last week fizzled out and we hardly noticed a temperature change. Baby A has been here visiting since early last week so we've missed all the weather reports. 

  At 4 p.m. this afternoon, I called the local time and temp # and it was reported to be 59° and that didn't figure in the wind chill and it was a factor! I will have to change my artwork above right to one of a cold north wind. Brr. We're not like Wanda in Washington State and have the stove ready and the cut wood handy. It will be quite a while yet before we get the extra propane tank filled and clean up the heater. 

  We'll be in the low 90's for a few more days until the next front moves through. It is suppose to bring a slight chance of rain and highs in the low 80's; that's a nice break from the heat. We had wind yesterday but it has died down and it is still so unusual to have such long periods of no wind. Ladies in skirts don't complain but we depend on it just to cool us down. We don't get below 65 when the days are this warm. Ouch.

  We are seeing little fronts move through every 3 to 4 days. We'll warm up a little, 85 for a high - 60 for a low, then we'll cool down to 75 for a high and 50 for a low. That's degrees F. No rain in the forecast at all. The grasshoppers are slower and easier to catch when they are cold just like when they are wet. Time to unpack the cold weather clothes, get out the jackets and do the fall cleaning to get ready for another winter.  

  Woke up to 52° this morning. Shiver. No sweaters or jackets out yet, so I settle for 2 shirts. If there was the slightest hint of a breeze it would be extra cold but it is completely still. Makes for a beautiful sunny morning. It was cloudy and windy since the front blew through yesterday making a strong North wind.

  This past Saturday we received about 2 inches of rain. The official was 1" but most folks recorded more. I hope for a good soaking rain to get the evergreens into growing well for the winter.

  We are really having some great weather. Our days aren't over 90, well one day did get up to 92 but no more of the almost 100's we'd been having. Our night temps are down to about 65 and for us, that is a chill. We don't run get the coats out yet but we do shiver and say "Brr." In Washington State, Wanda is getting out her winter gear and cleaning out the frozen garden stuffs the deer have missed. 

  We don't have a lot of color with the leaves getting ready for fall. There is an age where the oaks will turn a really deep red. When you look at the colorful leaves close up, they are not very pretty. They tend to be chewed and tattered with very few pretty enough to save. They do keep their color so they are cool to save. When new growth from the oak cuttings emerges, the shoots have some really beautiful colors of pink and greens and some reds thrown in for good measure.

  We had been under a high pressure dome that was keeping us hot and dry. This past Thursday, August 29th, we had a cool front come through, a little bit of rain, and then a high for the day of 85. What a nice change. The low that night was 68, a real chill. We've been staying with highs in the low 90's and the lows right at 70; our normal temps and more tolerable by far.

  We seem to be in the midst of what we call the "dog days of summer" and the highs are hitting 100 or above and the nights don't get below 80°. We've dried out and there is no rain in the forecast. I called the local time & temp yesterday at 5 pm and they reported 106 but the official was 100, same as in our hallway. At bedtime, we had dropped all the way down to 92. Miserable.

  About this time, we start looking forward to the first few weeks of September. Our local fair is held at that time and we can usually count on a few days of rain. Relief.

August 9, 2002

   Our heat is not so bad this week. We’re staying below the norm and haven’t hit 100 again since June. The cucumbers are actually making a recovery from the grasshopper assault. Our high humidity has kept us feeling the slow simmer setting

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July 19, 2002

  To find a positive note, I must agree that the sticker (weed) population this summer is diminished by the masses of grasshoppers devouring all plant life. Some areas of south Texas reached floods of 100-year levels. Most areas gained only moderate amounts and are wishing for more, a little more. This area easily got 10 inches in two days but the nearby lake is nowhere near full. Most private lakes and small tanks had long ago dried up and all the fish died. They will need years of normal rains to regain levels near full.

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May 24, 2002

  Two years ago, our temps had already hit 109° for several days in a row. This year, we have had two days of 100 but now it is a sweet, mild spring. The cool crops are already making seeds and the grasshoppers have invaded. If anyone has a magical cure to eliminate the hoppers please let me know. The onions are nearly gone; what’s next.  Three years ago I learned that if the onion gets eaten, water the area regularly and fertilize when the spring is new the following year and before the hoppers show up! The onions survive to grow again.

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May 3, 2002

  We’ve missed all of the hailstorms and tornadoes of the early season and are proud to be seeing tiny tomatoes following a super turnout of blossoms. Having such an early start and being set lower in their growing soil has given them strong, heavy stems. The deep soaker hoses keep their roots moist without ever getting their leaves wet and inviting disease. We hit 100° on the first of May and they did not wilt at all.

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April 12, 2002

  Despite some rough weather, we are finally getting into the spring growth and bloom we have been dreaming of all winter long. The hailstorms that missed us caused great damage in many other areas. The seeds have sprouted in the little cups and we now have the garden beds ready. Okay, almost ready!

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