BBRRRRRR! is right! I'm in Vancouver, WA and at our house we've had several nights in the 20's over the last 10 days or so. Living most of my life in the Midwest, I used to laugh at 20 (at times it felt like a heat wave!), but I've become so acclimitized to the area here that when it gets much below 40 I start complaining about the cold! :) Time to start my annual "Think Spring!" campaign!

Not so much the cold; but the damp/cold does not play will with arthritis!

So far I haven't recorded a night temp colder than 30F (-1C) and than was a couple of weeks ago. Close last night / early morning though when we hit 33F. We've had almost no rain to speak of in December to this point.

Cheers, Barrie (Vancouver Island BC)

Rhododendrons haven't been rolling up very much, so far. When I look out the window at rolledodendrons then I know there was a sharp frost. I've got a battalian of potted plants sitting out, waiting to go in the ground--penetrating frosts I don't need. I do need the soil to remoisten, last time I dug it was still dry below the top few inches. This isn't that unusual here, it may take months of winter to make up for the falling off of precipitation starting in spring. Places shielded by conifers may seldom become moist, these are actually trying to protect themselves from butt rots by keeping their root crowns dry.

My low this morning was 34.5 F. and I did record my first frost of the season on Dec.1 when the min. temp. dipped to 30.7 F. We haven't had any frost since then. It is currently clear and cool out there and sitting at 38.5 F. Hopefully there will no frost in the morning. It has been a very dry month. I was in town today admiring the large bushes of Fushias in full bloom. Fremontia also had lots of blooms. Mums, Osteospermum and Geraniums are still in bloom. It would be nice if these conditions at least hold out until after Christmas. Joe

Believe it or not, I still have houseplants outside........behind as usual :-) They are not looking wonderfully happy, but in a somewhat protected location and hanging on, in fact a couple are in bloom. Frost has been very noticeable the last few days but since the painters busted my outdoor thermometer, no way to tell exactly what the temp is (Santa, are you listening??)

The houseplants have been on my list for days to bring back inside, but need some basic attention first to keep them from the predations of two over-active young cats.....the same two wicked felines that are preventing me from having a Christmas tree this year. What they could do to a christmas tree while I'm at work all day doesn't bear thinking about!

Yes, it's decidedly frosty here. Most of my tropicals are snuggled in the barn or the g/h but the ones with a death sentence are looking most unhappy. Don't you love the way the rhodies sulk when it's cold and lift their leaves to the heavens when it's our normal raincoast weather?

Cold again here too. 30F (-1C) overnight with frost most everywhere. Mid 40's this afternoon and plenty of sun, and not a breath of wind. Dead calm.

Cheers, Barrie (Vancouver Island).

We had 19 last night -- TOO cold! And all our hummer feeders were frozen yesterday, so I thawed those. Hummers were all over them when I got them back out. I can't wait to see the return to warmer temps and some rain!

I live where I get that d**n east wind from the Columbia Gorge. There is nothing worse than 60 mph gusts at 25 degrees.
Duane

We have now offically dipped into the 20's here (28.6F or -2.2C ) as an overnight low. The days are very nice and sunny with mid 40's and no wind at all. Definately a change from the usual.

Cheers, Barrie (Vancouver Island).

I recorded my lowest min. temp. for the season so far. It dropped to -0.8 C. or 30.5 F. The low temp. in our main town dropped to 1 C. this morning. Nice and sunny today, but only a cool 4.2 C. cuurently. Joe

Sunny days and cold, frosty nights in the 20s. Enough already. I'll take the rain please.

Mary

Forgot to add something. Birds and squirrels seem to be eating all the time. I have noticed that the squirrels seem fatter and with thicker fur than I have ever seen on them in the time I have lived here.

Has anyone else noticed this? I was thinking we might be in for a colder winter than normal.

Mary

"...the official NOAA forecast calls for slightly increased odds of a warmer than normal winter (on average) for the Pacific Northwest, and about equal odds that it will be wetter or drier than normal"

Here is a link that might be useful: National Weather Service - NWS Seattle

We still have patches of snow from 2 weeks ago in the garden beds and on north sides of roofs. Many mornings are just above 20, certainly below freezing. I'm thinking Mexico! The Spring blooming bulbs are going to wait til it hits 40. Gusty winds took our power last night but it was restored quickly, thankfully.

The icy/sleety/snow mix expected overnight just doesn't tickle my fancy at all. I long for the balmy days of 50 degrees and a nice soggy rain to clear the air.