Newest long range ECMWF maps came out today. If I'm reading it right, it looks like it keeps you normal/above normal in precip. The map covers the period July/Aug/Sept...

Long range forecasting is difficult, so don't be shocked should it be totally wrong.

I could get out my Tarot cards and ask.

It's supposed to freeze here tonight. But the weather here is always different. There isn't any typical. It varies with what the Pacific currents are doing.

It's not like there is no history of drought in Texas. Makes you wish you could pipe in some of that flooding Mississippi water, doesn't it?

As for my weather, I'd sure like to get my tomato starts out and my bench grafts are barely unfurling tender little leaves and I am going to be unhappy if they freeze.

I just hope that the late start to summer means that fall will linger longer and give the plants that are getting in late a chance to ripen before it starts freezing in the fall.

I'm glad I don't rely upon farming for my income.

Thanks Frank, that sounds promising. I think at least some people on the cold and wet side of the jet stream would like a change as well. Places from CA to WA, CO, and Montana are all looking at record snow packs and very cold weather. Of course if they suddenly turn hot flooding could follow.

Oregon:

I think you need a greenhouse. You could get a handle on those summer frosts.

I know down here in central Alabama our temps have been in the 90's since the middle of May and the mid to high 90's since the first of June with rain being about as scarse as snow. Hopefully, with the change to "normal" in our weather pattern according to Frank's map, maybe the heat will cool down a little as well. Does anyone have an idea why the heat has been so above normal down in the South for the last 2 years? I've heard it's been those two siblings, El Nino and La Nina. If that's the case, I hope these two siblings stay down in Mexico or below for the next few years and leave us along. I know my blackberry plants sure would like that.

Dear Fruitnut, Here in Rhode Island, we have had rain, fog, mist, dampness and cool days and evenings for the past three months. This is not a typical Rhode Island Spring but it can happen and did. I have been battling every fungus, plant disease know to man this spring and it is not ending, at least not quite yet. Cut off a branch of my Montmorency cherry the other day, as a portion of it was bloated and covered in black fungus with little orange hairs growing out of it. Now that is ugly. The green fruits worms were horrible this year, and now my sick Bavay green plum has blossoms on it. Go figure. I'm afraid there is little normalcy in the weather. I sympathize.

The drought and heat in the south and southeast is because we are south of the jet stream. The cold and wet has been north of the jet stream. What's unusual is that the pattern hasn't changed since last fall. At least that is how I understand things. So the two are directly related. If it cools off and rains down here the northern areas will probably dry out and warm up. We could all use a change in this pattern.

Here is the temperature map. These maps are free, that is why we can only get a view of the tropics. Some of the weather forecasters have access to the whole thing ($$$). I've seen them...for us in the midwest, its showing warm and dry.

The Canadian wx model pumps out this map 2x a day. It covers the time period 6/24 to 7/1... As you can see, no relief for a lot of folks in the southeast.

{{gwi:115936}}

the weather here in indiana has been driving me insane! nothing but rain, and the weather man never gets anything right...

It's definitely been one of the more challenging weather years here in SE Michigan. From cold and wet to hot and back to cool, but now basically dry -- our April/May deluges have become trickles, and things are beginning to dry up. Not bad now, but our typical summertime pattern for my immediate area is that storms are shunted south along the Ohio border or north into the "Thumb" of Michigan

Compared to what most of the country is dealing with, I definitely cannot complain, but it has been incredibly cool and wet up here - only in the 60s today. We've only seen 80 degrees a couple times. Average for this time of year is mid 80s. It does look like we are starting to dry out and warm up, but fruitnut is right, we do have quite a lot of snow still in the mountains and rapid warming could lead to flooding.

Well Fruitnut, up here in north central KS things are looking pretty good....slightly on the cool side for the late Spring/early Summer period and May was a wet one. Our creek very nearly backed up into town 3 times in May due to big rains up in the head waters and saturated soils down stream with lots of runoff.

More importantly, I haven't had to irrigate the garden or fruit trees yet, the fruit trees shouldn't need any more water for at least another month. I wasn't able to get the sweetcorn planted until last weekend as the ground only dried out enough to plant once or twice in the last 6 weeks and I didn't have time to plant on those 2 occasions. Quite unusual.

Last evening I mowed, weeded and fertilized the strawberry bed and watered in the fert. a bit to move it down some and get the soil started on getting soaked, it rained an inch early this morning. Some times you just get lucky, don't give up hope. Oh yes, I was so sure it wouldn't rain last night I left the windows down on my pickup, bad idea. Maybe you could try leaving all of your windows open at all times.

michael:

I always figure there has to be someone in the middle who is setting pretty and feeling good. I'm glad it's you!!

Here's what we're getting:

>>Missoula temperatures look to be on the rise, albeit slightly, this weekend, with a high of 68 degrees predicted on Friday, 71 on Saturday and the mid-60s on Sunday.

When it will all end, nobody knows - but on Thursday, Kitsmiller said Montanans should be braced to deal with high water for much of the summer, due to the persistence of cool weather through the month of June so far. As of Thursday, Missoula's average high daily temperature during the month of June was a full 8 degrees lower than the historical average.

"We could be worrying about flooding for most or at least a good portion of the summer," he said. "We just haven't seen anything quite like this in the past. We've had years with a lot of snow and rain, but this has been odd because we still have all the snow up in the mountains, we haven't warmed up, and we keep getting system after system of wet weather and cool weather coming through.

"Even with this much snow, we normally would have lost it and flooded already due to warming temperatures," he continued, "but because it's been cool, we keep pushing it back."