That is great news, Melissa! I am so happy for you.

I hope Bart, Anna-Lyssa, and anyone who needs rain is getting a decent soaking- or will soon.

We're expecting about 2 inches of rain today, and 5 inches tomorrow. Luckily, we haven't had a lot of rain lately, so the ground isn't soggy.

Virginia

PS to your PS... I hope all of your family will stay safe; a pajama party sounds good!

Wonderful news, Melissa. A glimmer of hope among all the gloom of recent days. Thanks for letting us know, and I hope the drought truly is broken. Hoping that you hear nothing but good news from your family.

John

That's wonderful, Melissa, and I hope this will end the tension you've been living with. From what I understand the hurricane was downgraded and I hope your loved ones are all safe. I hope your roses will bloom and grow now and you can enjoy a cool and rainy fall.

The forecast for southern California is warmer and drier than usual, and my expectations for rain are very low. I hope we're not heading into another drought cycle, but I'm resigned to whatever happens. A halfway decent garden will make me happy now; I've become much more humble in my expectations.

Yes, thank Heaven, we got a lot of rain, too! Actually I only know this from looking at Internet, since at the moment DH and I are at the beach in the south of Tuscany, near Grosseto.Here it has rained a bit, and it's grey out; not good beach weather really, but I shouldn't go out anyway; I caught bronchitis, double dang it! But I gather that at home we were blessed with abundant rainfall.

Sad to say, however,there was flooding and lives were lost at Livorno. Climate change has put all of us in danger; to try to deny and ignore the fact is irresponsible and inexcusable.

O, and I forgot to add my little comment on Melissa's title,lol: "Our drought is dead"...and may it remain so for evermore!!!

I sure wish I could say the same. :-(

Wonderful news indeed, Melissa! I'm so glad you got your much needed rain. This climate change is a serious thing, Bart. I agree. After traveling out of town this past weekend, I continue to be shocked at the amount of people out there, who deny its existence. These are intelligent, college educated, and wealthy people. It boggles my mind! Lisa

I rethought my comment and came back and edited it, just a bit. I had an "interesting" conversation about climate change, with a group of people over the weekend. Lisa

I'm beginning to feel some envy for the many people who don't have a clue to how perilously close we are to a terrible disaster. The recent horrendous hurricanes, floods, fires and earthquakes, all coming so close together, give me the feeling that we are seeing the beginning of what may very well be the end. Toxins from 40 chemical plants have been dumped into the Houston flood waters. One of the plants had not been inspected by the EPA since 2003, which probably means none have. One wonders whether that area will be safe to live in again, and certainly the wildlife will be greatly affected. There is hardly any area in the world that is not affected in some way. Those are the facts, but wealth and intelligence don't matter when people don't want to know and just continue their privileged lives. Their children will bear the brunt of it.

Unfortunately having a college education, or money, doesn't guarantee an individual's ability to observe or reason from observation and gathered information. I pretty much think I'm preaching to the choir here, but all I can do is continue planting, speak up when there's an opportunity for dialogue, and live and vote my convictions. Money talks with the loudest voice sometimes: what will happen when businesses and homeowners can't insure their properties? I'm sorry for the deaths in Livorno, but it happens over and over, and it seems nothing ever changes to prevent a repetition: a cloudburst comes, streams flood out of their too-narrow beds, people drown. A great deal of hand-wringing, and then back to life as usual, except for the families of the dead.

Bart, the beach sounds fine, and I hope you get well soon. I have been enormously grateful for a couple of gray days, and look forward with pleasure to more rain as stands in the forecast. Now that we no longer need to water every single day of our lives, DH and I are going to Genova for a night. We've both been nailed here for months. Ingrid, Jeri, and others who continue to suffer drought, I wish you rain, and great powers of adaptation as well. Ingrid, I understand your worry, but I hope you can ease up on yourself. Do what you can and live for the day. But I think you know that: it's just hard to practice.

I'm pretty sure Irma had weakened enough to be no longer a threat by the time it got up to where my family lives in north Florida. I don't know about sultryjasmine: I read there was flooding around Jacksonville.

There's possible rain in California tonight, so it seems the heat is backing off

Yay rain!

I doubt we'll be getting any rain in San Diego County, but there is a slight possibility. We have a whole week of cooler temperatures in the forecast. Today was absolutely delightful. My high was 75F and I'm sitting on the patio now, at 8:45pm. It's only 65F out at the moment. I love it! I hope some of us who need it, do get that rain. Lisa

Rain next week in Portland!!! Warn the neighbors to close their drapes because I'm going to run outside with my arms raised to the heavens and dance naked in my back garden. Carol

HaHa, Carol!! Very funny. I had a moment when I read your post, where I thought I saw the word "again" at the end of your last sentence. On second look, I realized my eyes had been playing tricks on me. I had a big out loud laugh, though! Maybe I need new reading glasses. Lisa

It's amazing how your outlook changes when the temperature comes down, the garden looks prettier under the clouds instead of the glaring sunshine, and you feel that the rest of the world and the future will just have to take care of itself. We're supposed to have cooler weather for the next two weeks and it's heavenly. Most probably we'll have Santa Ana winds and fire danger in October but that's then and this is now, and it's great.

Isn't that the truth, Ingrid?!?! I just love today's weather. It actually seems to be looking cloudier now, than a few hours ago. Instead of clearing up, it's getting darker here. I'm too tired to actually do any gardening today, but I can't keep myself indoors. Just sitting in the cool temps without that glaring sun is amazing. No. Let's not think of October's Santa Ana's, yet. Lisa

Instead of us getting the nice autumn weather the garden longs for, a new mini heat wave is predicted for the weekend.. I'm midway through fall pruning but I'll have to stop both because the roses won't like it much and, mainly, because I can't work in the heat. At least days are getting shorter which makes the heat more tolerable. Autumn rain? This is becoming something of a joke in the last couple of years.. The tourist industry loves this though..

I'll send you a bucket of rain, Nik, if we actually receive what's in the forecast! Carol

I will need more than a bucket, I'm afraid, but thanks for the offer! 35C (95F) is projected for early next week. That's too hot for the time of year.

I do realise not everyone shares my somewhat.. er.. shall we just say.. eclectic musical and terpsichorean tastes, but for all of you badly in need of/ planning a rain-dance, IMO you just can't pass up vintage Sonny & Cher, getting down 'n' dirty as it were, in the dust and mud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNRJHFKJidU

Enjoy!

So, how are you Mediterranean-area folks faring? Have things cooled down enough for you to assess the summer-hardiness of your roses and other plants? Please keep us posted.

Virginia

We are having a late season heat wave over here... My best performers are in pots (which goes to show that heat, drought and filthy soil don't help especially when combined..)

Contrary to Nik's conditions, we are having a rare cool spell in September, which can often be very hot and dry. I don't think we can rely on past experiences when it comes to weather and climate. With ample watering everything is bouncing back from the heat wave. October is usually Santa Ana wind and fire season so this may be a very welcome break before another unpleasant episode.

As much as I am enjoying our cool spell here, I can't help but feel uneasy about it. This just isn't normal. I have a high of 75F today and the lows are in the high to mid 50's at night. The forecast says more of the same for the next week at least. These kinds of temperatures just don't happen here in September, and certainly not for 10-14 days. Climate change is obvious. I'm trying not to be too pessimistic, but I feel like this is some sort of calm before the storm. The "storm" in this case being very hot temps, dry wind, and brush fires. I'm enjoying the wonderful outdoor time, but these temps are unheard of for September, at least in my memory. "Something" isn't right, and I think most of us know what that "something" is. I hope I'm wrong, and we have a "normal" fall. I just can't shake the feeling that we're in for some horribly hot dry weather, and that it might be worse than usual. I sincerely hope this is a foolish post, and a foolish feeling on my part. Lisa

Yes, Lisa, I agree. I've been on the planet a long time, and my generation has progressed from perhaps well-intentioned but woefully naive "Give a hoot. Don't pollute!" slogan supporters to the generation that has born witness to increasingly disasterous climactic shifts, including global-wide droughts, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes and melting polar ice caps. Recent unprecedented meteorological events like three simultaneous Atlantic hurricanes may become the new normal. Humans have trashed the planet for a long time while ignoring cumulative effects. Advocating for environmental repair has become a top priority for me. If Mother Earth goes down, we all go down. Although the most vulnerable always suffer most, privilege, arrogance and denial will not save anyone. Carol

The great news is that we can make a difference and it is working. Any green choices you make really do count. If we keep going, we will be able to avoid the worst case that was predicted if we did nothing. We need to believe that we can make a difference and help others.

Remember that not wasting food is a big help. Food production, especially animals creates greenhouse gasses. Driving less, recycling, and using green energy is important, but using less resources generally is always good for the planet and is overlooked by most people here in the U.S. as one of the biggest ways to help.

I'm late getting back to this thread, but, Nik, I'm sorry for your heat wave, and hope it has passed! No one should have to deal with temperatures in the nineties this time of year. The weather here has finally turned kind in September. Rain, clouds and sun in decent proportions, liveable temperatures. I'm gardening!! Planning on transplanting peonies today (and having a look at the long-neglected big garden). I've been working on a series of holes that, once the rocks and clay that got dug out of them have been amended with organic matter, will get planted with trees of various sorts. Associated with this project is brush clearing and further soil improvement and, one hopes, an improved tiny patch of Planet Earth. On the other hand we're going to be putting about thirty-five miles on our gas-fueled auto today, having unavoidable running around to do, and so will be dumping more carbon dioxide in the air. My family is part of the problem. We need solutions on the national level, and I'm glad some governments realize that.