The passing of summer
It always happens too quickly. It seems like just about the time we settle into summer it蘑菇视频 over.
Our children are back to school the nights are longer, days are shorter and the fire flies are long gone. In the meadows and along our roadways the summer wildflowers are giving way to the yellow Goldenrod, lavender Asters, six-foot-tall Joe Pie and the vivid purple Iron Weed.
In our woods Mother Nature is getting ready for the annual color leaf spectacular. Just recently I began to see a few leaves dropping from the trees and it reminded me of the need to locate the rake and the joy of working in the yard during the fall season.
Lastly the evening song of the crickets and the Katydids are at full throttle and as the cooler weather arrives their song will slowly diminish.
August finished up on the hot and humid side with six days of temperatures reaching 90 degrees or better. We even had a few nights when the temperatures stayed in the low 70s. July only saw one day with a temperature above 90 and June had three. This is about average for a summer.
September can still see 90, however, it is rare after the 15th of the month. September also sees our average temperatures on the decline averaging 77 for the high and 54 for our morning low. These are down from a high of 83 and a low of 60 in August.
September started off on the rainy side with the remnants of Hurricane Ida passing over the area and dumping 2-4 inches of rain. This caused widespread flooding problems across a large portion of Southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
I was impressed with the tracking of Ida and the forecast predictions that alerted emergency management days in advance. It wasn鈥檛 too many years ago that these storms slammed across the Gulf with little warning and the loss of many lives.
Hurricane Ida was not caused by Climate Change but its strength and torrential rains, flooding and wind were certainly a result of the warmer atmosphere and waters that feed into these storms. The increased heat will continue to feed our storms until we take the necessary actions to reverse recent trends.
Weather forecasts today are much more accurate and allow for better preparations as these storms ravage the east. Out west we are just reaching the peak of the fire season and once again as a result of climate change the situation is out of control.
On a brighter note the floods have receded the sun is shining again and the forecast for our region for the next few weeks is for cooler and drier weather. Much of the August heat and humidity are gone and we should experience some pleasant sunny days and comfortable nights. Perhaps it蘑菇视频 time to turn off the AC, open the windows and experience the joy of September.