I kind of expected that it was silly question. I had hoped that one sources was known for having more weather stations closer together or something like that. Logically I would think that the local news would have more specific information because it is targeted to a smaller area, but then I noticed that they prefaced it with 'your accuweather forecast' so I guess they get it from there. I should try a different channel. I've always been under the impression that forecast temperatures were generally more accurate than precipitation, especially in spring or where nor'easters are concerned. That is why I was so taken aback by what I see as a huge difference in forecast from different sources. Of course, I don't know nothing about no meteorology. :) Right now I am throwing out the outliers and averaging the rest. I feel kind of silly, nature doesn't obey mathematics.

Suzie, You never know, she might get a thundersnow storm. We've had a lot of them in recent years. I grew up in Texas just about 80 or 85 miles south of where we now live in Oklahoma, but I'd never even heard of thundersnow until we moved here. I won't say we have thundersnow here at our house every year that snow falls, but probably about every other year. We had it last year, and we've already had it this year. Jim Cantore was very entertaining the other night. I'm sure a lot of that is part of the "show" he puts on for the camera, but I also think he was shocked to see thundersnow that far north. The other weather phenomenon we have here that I don't remember having in Texas is derecho winds. The first one we experienced here came during the night with 60 mph winds and hit the house so suddenly and so hard while we were sleeping that we thought a semi-truck or an airplane had hit the house. I also had about 20 flats of plants on the screened-in porch (so it must have been April) and we had to run out and bring them all into the house because the temperature plunged probably 30 degrees in 10 minutes when the derecho wind hit the house. I think we've experienced 3 or 4 severe derecho wind storms at our house since then. The one I remember best, the local met on the TV news at noon told us it was coming and told us if we went outside 5 or 10 minutes before it was due to hit our area, we'd hear it coming like a "mighty rush of wind". Of course, Tim and I went outside 10 minutes before it was s supposed to hit and went down to the road so we'd have a clear view of it coming by looking up the roadway (too many trees around our house). Sure enough, a few minutes later it came roaring towards us like a freight train (we could hear it for a minute or more before we could see the blowing of the vegetation begin) and we went from clear skies to dark grey ones in about a minute as the wind blew through and the temperatures plunged. The other one I remember was a severe derecho squall line with multiple bow echoes accompanied by tons of lightning. This time, the TV met kept cutting into regular programming to warn that anyone working outside needed to get inside by a certain time. Our barn-style detached garage was being built then, and the buys working on it were welding steel beams together. I talked with them about the weather and convinced them to heed the warnings, get down off the structure, put up all their tools and head home. They literally were driving down the driveway when the derecho hit here and the first raindrops started falling, and we sure did have lightning! I was glad they weren't up on that metal framing when it hit. You've got to admit, Oklahoma's weather is never, ever dull. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Facts About Derecho Windstorms

Hi All! You may have read here that I like to walk the dog along the Erie Canal because she's a bit frisky and I can't let her off the leash. When the backyard is muddy it ain't a place for her to be, so the cindered Canal trail is the place to go. Several weeks ago on a similar "Unusual Warm Weather" post I mentioned seeing a frog, a garden snake (both well past hibernation time) and a mink. Last week I saw the mink again. So on Friday of last week when we had that nice weather, the morning was filled with blue sky and sun, and with a muddy backyard off to the Canal. Because of the mink I took a pair of 12x50 binoculars as I was hoping to get a closer look. As I perused the other side of the Canal I heard a Robin to my back. The bino's aren't for birding but as I scanned the tree line I noticed 3 Robins perched. As I watched this seemingly refreshing sight I noticed something fly through the field of view, then another, then another. As I tried to see what they were I came upon several. I'd never seen a bird that looked exactly like this? The area is heavily brushed and I wasn't sure how many I saw during the time I observed along the 100 yard area. I had a bird book at home and I paid attention to the colors and when I found them in the book it's no wonder I'd never seen them before. The book says "This handsome bird of the North Woods is a rare visitor to the Northeast in Winter. When it appears, often in large flocks, it feeds on berries. (Which they were devouring.) The book added, "To be able to see them this way is an unforgettable event." It says they are "Highly Social" and they must also be to humans as they flew back and forth over the Canal in numbers of 5 to 10. They never flew at me but when my back was turned they flew over my shoulder maybe 4 or 5 feet away that I could hear there wings flutter in the still. Nova was moving back and forth and they didn't appear to be afraid. They were almost like Chickadees. I don't now how many because of the heavy brush but at least 25 to 50 or maybe even more. I found them to be from the book the Bohemian Waxwing. I observed them for over 1/2 hour and what a sight to behold. If you've never seen a Bohemian Waxwing paste this site or go to Google for more photos, you won't be disappointed. http://www.pbase.com/rlortie/image/37670997 Now it's back to shoveling off the deck. Darn! Jim

Hi Jim, I'm in Schenectady, which is also zone 5a. I have always dug my dahlias and crocosmia after the first big frost when the foliage has died back and turned brown. I have heard that digging dahlias too early may prevent them from developing new eyes to grow from next year. I don't think it will hurt the dahlias much to allow them to dry for a while before storing. The biggest problem I have had with dahlia tubers is mold and rot developing from too much moisture. I think allowing them to dry for a while first may actually help prevent this. As long as they are not shriveling, I think they should be ok. You may want to moisten them slightly before storing them in peat or sawdust for the winter. This year I am going to try to keep my crocosmia out all winter and mulch them heavily to see how they will do. I also have pink oxalis (Oxalis crassipes) which seems to overwinter fine here with mulch. It has come back 2 years for me now and seems hardier than most websites seem to indicate it is. Not sure what type you have, but you may want to try to dig some and leave some and see how they do. They rapidly multiply, so losing some shouldn't be very devastating in the long run. Hope this info helps! starmoon *)