Lovely Weather--If you are a rock

 Elev 571 ft   36.05 °N,   86.93 °W  | Updated 15 min ago

Partly Cloudy
101.5 °F  
Feels Like   115 °F  

N
1.7
Wind from ESE  

Tomorrow is forecast to be Much Cooler than today.
Today
High 103 | Low 71 °F
20% Chance of Precip.


Yesterday
High 101.3 | Low 68.5 °F
Precip. 0 in

This weather station is the closest to our house.  It is a professional outfit located in the park.  We are 32 miles from the NWS weather that shows the temperature to be almost 10 degrees cooler.

I believe many of you live nowhere near where your official weather is taken, so you should be aware and alert for your SFG needs.  Your frost dates could be off by 10 days from your official dates.  You might think a 85 degree day is okay not to water, when in reality, your property is 90-95 degrees.

Conversely, your city may have a forecasted low of 39, but it might be 35 with frost at your property.

I am going to purchase professional weather equipment in the next few months, and I advise you to do the same thing if your finances will allow.

Cripes!   Did you move to CA or WHAT!?!

I have been in both CA and AZ when the actual temperature was in the 110's but the humidity was in single digits.  Sweat was useful and cooled upon evaporation.

With high humidity, your sweat does not evaporate.  It just stays on and glues your clothing to your body.

The only place where I was more uncomfortable was the day I visited Furnace Creek just to say I had been there, and it was 124 degrees.

Last night, the Nashville-Memphis baseball game began at 7:05 at 95 degrees and 105 heat index, and it was still 91 at 10PM when the game ended.

Today, it took almost 2 hours to water everything.  I had to water all the self-watering containers.  In all, it took about 72 gallons of water to cover everything.

This sounds like a joke, but I promise it is true.  I began with the clay pot containers, watering the greens and lettuces with 2 cups per pot.  By the time I finished, the first few pots looked like they had not been watered yet.  I had to dig with my fingers to make sure I had not forgotten them.

I took a kitchen thermometer outside and placed it on our patio at 2 PM today.  According to the dial, a ham would have been ready to eat--It registered at 150 in the sun.

Razed Bed wrote:
I am going to purchase professional weather equipment in the next few months, and I advise you to do the same thing if your finances will allow.

We relied on the NWS from the Bradford Pa. airport for the first 19 years we lived in this location and it didn't take long to realize that we were our own little micro climate. The airport was seven miles away and 700 or so feet difference in elevation.

We tried different equipment, and while most of them got the readings we were after, they didn't last more than a couple of years.

So at the end of 2010, after a few months of researching I had narrowed it down to 2 units and they were both made by Davis Instruments. One model was the Vue and the other was the Vantage Pro 2.

I chose the Pro2 and ended up getting the 'wireless' version. It's located in our backyard and transmits into the house from about 140' away and is powered by solar. It's an investment needless to say and to the point, it's added on to my homeowners insurance for the replacement value.

Anyways, here's a link from my weather website that shows the unpacking on my kitchen counter and the evolution to it's location where it still stands today.

More Photos !



Mines been running flawlessly for a little over five years now.

If you have any questions or concerns, fire away and I can also send you a way to get a pretty good discount(I make nothing on it)

All the Best
Brad

There's a PWS about a mile from where I live--the closest one I could find--on Wunderground.  Its temps and mine sometimes are close, but not always.  There's only about 50' difference in altitude.  

I sometimes suspect that his/their location is in bright sunlight.  However, mine isn't, but it may read higher temps on sunny days because of the gravel surface beneath. At any rate, that PWS and my readings are often MUCH higher than those reported by the official websites.  

I've read that sometimes official temps are lowered to make other temps seem higher....  Who knows?

It was explained to me many years ago that the National Weather Service chose their location to purposely find the coldest spot in the area for two reasons.

1--Tennessee was once mostly rural with farm after farm relying on accurate frost data.  Frost could not occur on the farms in the area unless there was also frost at the NWS.  It was okay to err on the cold side and have no frost than to forecast no frost and have frost.

2--Tourism is very important to this area, so saying it will be 95 instead of the 102 it really is helps tourism.  We had over 100,000 visitors here last week for CMA week and Bonoroo, and there are about 50,000 here tonight for the Rolling Stones concert tomorrow.  Additionally, there are two major conventions.  These people don't want to hear that it is 102 with 115 heat index.  95 sounds psychologically so much better.

My issue is that 102 with 115 heat index is considerably more dangerous than 95 with 102 heat index.  I watered today in a pale blue swimsuit, stepping into a cold shower before going outside and after consuming 24 ounces of lime-juice squeezed into water.

My neighbors cannot seem to understand that today's high temperature fried her flowers, because it was 8 or 9 degrees hotter than the announced temperature.

"It got to 95 when I lived in Glendale (CA), and I didn't have to water," she said this morning.

When she came home from work this evening, her geraniums were ger-gone-iums.  I offered to water them for her, but she insisted that she knew what she was doing and didn't want them watered.

"You told me so," is how she greeted me when she called.

Maybe Mel should address micro-climates in a future book.

I have saved the information for the recommended weather equipment. 

Weather Underground recommends a group that can be uploaded as PWS to their site.

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/buyingguide.asp

NOAA has this informative page
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/epz/mesonet/CWOP-PWSintro.pdf

Interesting topic. Much of where I live, Southern Oregon, and where you have to go through to get here from down south, is filled with valleys and hollows. It can make for an amazingly beautiful drive, as every minute or so you see different types and colors of foliage because there is no consistency to the climate in a long series of micro-climates.

It does mean that the advice you get from other people, no matter how experienced or well-trained, is often useless or even counter-productive. People knowing everything about their own environment doesn't mean they know a thing about yours ... even if yours is just a quarter mile away. Best friends and best intentions sometimes get you only disaster in the garden.

I've found I have to largely make my own way when it comes to picking which plants to grow and how to treat them. I can turn to other people for lots of things like advice about bugs and disease and pruning techniques, but if I assume their other advice is general and not specific to their own garden, I often wind up with some failures, and scolding myself for doing it.

Razed Bed wrote:

Maybe Mel should address micro-climates in a future book.

I have saved the information for the recommended weather equipment. 

Weather Underground recommends a group that can be uploaded as PWS to their site.

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/buyingguide.asp

NOAA has this informative page
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/epz/mesonet/CWOP-PWSintro.pdf

I send my info to weatherunderground every 10 minutes



You can click on that link and it will take you to my page. I also send my data to

http://weather.gladstonefamily.net/site/D7067?tile=10;days=14#Data/

Those folks have been around longer than Weather Underground as they formed CWOP(Citizens Weather Observer Program)

My data also makes it to MesoWest, one of the largest public databases of PWS on the planet used mainly for climate(and micro-climate) research
http://mesowest.utah.edu/cgi-bin/droman/meso_base.cgi?stn=D7067

Getting data out of my unit is pretty much plug and play. The reasons for choosing my unit are many. If you look at This PDF, you will see that the rain gauge should be at one level and your Anemometer(wind gauge) should be at another. Most of the units in your first link can't be separated, in other words, the rain and wind gauge have to be mounted at the same height. My Pro2 comes with a 40' cable that allows proper siting. It was important for me to send data to these folks and make it the best data I could give them

I mentioned wireless in my first post. That wasn't just for convenience, it was also for safety. Just about anywhere in the country lightning can strike and I wanted a system that didn't give that form of electricity a way into my house.

I also ordered mine with the solar and UV sensors and this is as much to the point of your neighbor that used to live in CA. My unit calculates Evapotranspiration, a big word that basically means 'water in/water out' over a given amount of time. The temp/wind/rainfall/evaporation/sun hours/solar radiation/humidity all have an affect on how much moisture a plant pulls out of the soil and how much is pulled out by mother nature.

You can see that we are +1.63 rain in and -0.81 evaporation, so for now we are about 3/4 of an inch to the good. I would only consider watering seedlings at this point. Here's A Link to the live daily page for folks that might read this thread at a later time.

Anyways, if you want a PWS that not only gives you and others data, but quality data without truly breaking the bank, this is where I bought mine, Vantage Pro2 Plus and it looks like they are running a sale lol

All the Best
Brad

You have convinced me that your equipment is superior.  Now, if you will help me set up the crowdfunding site, so I can raise the extra $500 I will need to buy it while it is on sale...


This is the daily morning advisory that comes on our weather radio as well as online.

... Hot and humid conditions continue today...

Hot and humid weather is expected again across middle Tennessee
today through the evening hours. High temperatures ranging in the
mid to upper 90s combined with ample moisture in the air will produce
afternoon heat index readings in the upper 90s to the upper 100s.
With this combination of heat and humidity... people should limit
their activity outdoors. If you must be outside... remember to
wear light-colored... light-weight clothing... drink plenty of
water... avoid alcohol... and get to a cool place if feeling signs
of heat stress. Limit outdoor activity to the morning hours if
possible as well.

At 8:30 AM, it is 89.6 degrees with a feels like of 102.
Chiggers, ticks, pollen, and mold almost make the smog inconsequential.

Green Acres is the place to be.

Razed Bed wrote:
This is the daily morning advisory that comes on our weather radio as well as online.

... Hot and humid conditions continue today...

Hot and humid weather is expected again across middle Tennessee
today through the evening hours. High temperatures ranging in the
mid to upper 90s combined with ample moisture in the air will produce
afternoon heat index readings in the upper 90s to the upper 100s.
With this combination of heat and humidity... people should limit
their activity outdoors. If you must be outside... remember to
wear light-colored... light-weight clothing... drink plenty of
water... avoid alcohol... and get to a cool place if feeling signs
of heat stress. Limit outdoor activity to the morning hours if
possible as well.

At 8:30 AM, it is 89.6 degrees with a feels like of 102.
Chiggers, ticks, pollen, and mold almost make the smog inconsequential.

Green Acres is the place to be.

That is pretty much our forecast also.  The forecast did say that the above temps are in the shade.  If out in the garden working in the sun, add an additional 10 - 15 degrees to that.  So heat of 110 - 115 * F if working in the sun in the garden.  And high humidity makes for unpleasant gardening.  I got up early this morning and watered about 1/4 of my garden before work.

Razed Bed wrote:You have convinced me that your equipment is superior.  Now, if you will help me set up the crowdfunding site, so I can raise the extra $500 I will need to buy it while it is on sale...

Maybe you could start with your neighbor?  

Wasn't quite sure where you were at in your original post "if your finances will allow", now I know. I certainly wasn't trying convince you or anybody about superiority, just having your own data is beneficial. Shoot, a good thermometer and rain gauge is better than using data from others, altho there's a lot of good equipment in between.

All the Best
Brad

Razed Bed wrote:I have been in both CA and AZ when the actual temperature was in the 110's but the humidity was in single digits.  Sweat was useful and cooled upon evaporation.

With high humidity, your sweat does not evaporate.  It just stays on and glues your clothing to your body.

I have definitely learned this since moving to SD.  I grew up in Nor Cal, where summers were generally 105-110, but occasionally went higher.  But with the lack of humidity, I never knew I had ringlets until I moved to SD!  

Elev 571 ft 36.05 °N, 86.93 °W | Updated 6 min ago

Mostly Cloudy
101.8 °F
Feels Like 118 °F

N
2.2
Wind from SSW

Today is forecast to be nearly the same temperature as yesterday.


I just watered the containers for a 2nd time today and now must go work a baseball game tonight.  At least if this were the opposite, and it was the Northwest Territories in January, you can keep adding clothing until you finally find warmth.  There is a limit to what you can take off, and even when you reach the point where there's nothing left to take off, you are still hot.

We actually placed two beach towels in cold water this morning to wear while we were watering.

Thought I'd put my 2 cents in and tell you of our weather in the SE. I have a regular thermometer and rain gauge. The rain gauge is not correct for the birds land on top and set there during a rain event and/or do their business in it.

The thermometer is only accurate, within a deg.  of the weather stations in the winter time. (I don't move mine for the winter or summer) In the summer, mine is always hotter than the local weather stations. I think they move them to a shady area in the summer. I've been going to take my thermometer to the different weather stations, but the folks there are not very friendly, to say the least!
It has been 100 to 104 at my house, with high humidity the last few days. It finely rained today. Not enough to hardly settle the dust.  I water early in am each day. The plants in the garden are handling this heat/drought better than the humans!

A bit of interest for temps. The horse drawn carriages in Charleston only run on days when the temp. is not too hot for the horses. Guess where the thermometers are that check the temp.  At least 50 ft above the blacktop and 10 ft from nearest structure.
I feel so sorry for the horses, for it is hard to get the carriages 50 ft in the air!

Jo

WOW your weather looks hotter than ours in S Fla. We just have more humidity, yuk. I am lucky to have a weather underground station just a couple blocks away. So far it has been a very dry  rainy season.

Oh my! We have wonderful weather where I live, if you're a duck that is lol

For those of you that might be interested in knowing what kind of unit is being used for the info in your weather underground stickers and you don't already know how to find it, here's a simple way.

I'll use Razed Bed's as an example and it will be the same for everyone

Click on your link in your signature and in the upper left hand corner it will look similar to this.



Next, you would click on Horseshoe Bend(or whatever is listed there) and a new window will open that takes you to the actual station info. Again, look in the upper left hand area and you will see this.



Then you can click on the 'About This PWS' which will open a pop up with more information about the station, looking like this.



You can see listed in the left hand column

Hardware: AcuRite Pro Weather Center

You can then use a search engine, if you are curious, to find out about the unit. A lot of the folks will also have a website up with their data and if they filled that info in 'Visit Website' will show up in the right hand column which you can click to be taken there.
You can also contact them with the top link and ask them questions.

Anyways, just thought I'd throw that out there.

Looks like all of us, at least from Texas Northward and to the East Coast are going to be locked into the same weather pattern that we are experiencing today for the next week or so.

Incredible!  I guess I better go tell Dave that people in Pennsylvania can practically look inside his bedroom--LOL

Using the coordinates, I also guess some people can go to Google Earth and search near that weather station a few blocks for the ugliest combination of raised bed current SFG, of a large run of original 1980's SFG, and a lot of varied containers and then locate the two large piles of compost.  At least, if you find me, you cannot look in the bedroom window, because we are 250 feet up and off the road.