Anotherpower.com Forum
The Corner Tavern. => Weather => Topic started by: Wolvenar on July 22, 2012, 04:06:39 pm
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This has been the hottest July/summer ever in northern Minnesota.
Despite the "official" airport readings I have been monitoring a variety of mercury ( or its replacement) thermometers I have around here along with digital versions and they are all in similar agreement. I have been recording well into the triple digits many times this year, yet our official airport says much less.. I can say this even happened the other day in another town where I was for the day. So I started asking around to friends I know are competent enough to know how to correctly monitor temps ( location of thermometers etc) and have been told very much the same. We were given the explanation a few times that we must be living in a heat island.
I might give this some credit, if one of them did not live on the other side of the highway from the airport. I have visited him to make sure the way he has things setup should not be a problem. The other odd part is for the most part all I have asked have within 2 degree difference. The same day/time record from the airport say over a 10 degree difference.
This is not just my town, but a couple others ..
What could be going on here?
I don't think we are all doing it wrong..
Is anyone here finding similar?
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Here in Hong Kong the temperature in my car port last Friday was 37.7 Celsius. In fact the last two weeks have been very hot with daily temperatures between 33 and 37.7 Celsius.
Yes, I too wonder what is happening.
David in HK
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Yeah I see different temps from the airport and the local TV stations. My well placed thermometer usually reads about 5 degrees higher than other sources.
I have been working outside many times doing sound for Live Events. Many times the temps went up to 105 and one day the temps were 109 f (43 c). I found out that sucking on ice cubes is almost like air conditioning.
Here is a snip-it from an article about the history of Alabama's hot Summers
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Looking only at average high temperatures in Alabama for June, July and August, he found that the average for the past six summers was the hottest since 1952-1957.
While 2006-2011 was the hottest six-summer stretch in more than half a century, it was only the tenth hottest six-summer period on the 129-year record. That seems to eliminate manmade global warming as a likely cause for the recent hot summers, Christy said.
"Since these temperatures aren't higher than earlier temperatures, it doesn't look like 'global warming,' but more like a problem we still wrestle with: unpredictable natural variability," Christy said. "No one really knows what triggers these natural shifts in the climate."
Despite the recent warm summers, Alabama's long-term summer temperature trend over the entire 129-year period is cooling at the rate of about 0.12 degree Fahrenheit per decade. That means summer high temperatures for the several summers before 2006 were about 1.5 degrees F cooler than they were in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
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I have wondered about this to as the lame stream media is never as hot as we get or in the winter never as cold.
when I pick up a thermometer at the store i look at all of them and see what they are reading.
and pick one that reads the same as the majority as the others and still never get the same as media weather. its been very hot here in S.W.Mich
My young Cherry trees lost their leaves due to the heat.
I lost a lot of plants this year in the garden due to the ex stream erratic weather.
Isaiah
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Guidelines for a weather station...
- Temperature sensor should be mounted 5 feet +/- 1 above the ground and/or 3 feet above record snowpack.
- Temperature sensor should be shrouded by at least a double-cone or multiple cone gill insulated 'house' without an open bottom.
- The ground over which the temp sensor shelter is located should be typical of the surrounding area, only sand or dirt if you're in a desert.
- A level, open clearing is desirable so the thermometers are freely ventilated by air flow.
- The sensor should be no closer than four times the height of any obstruction (tree, fence, building, etc.)
- The sensor should be at least 100 feet from any concrete or pavement.
Even with a good pagoda or rocket shape solar radiation shield the temperatures will read high and may need some error correction.
A temperature sensor system over snow pack may read +5 C 'high on a calm air day.
Some temp sensors use forced air to help compensate for sun heating.
... so the nine or ten 100°F-plus days I've recorded in my back deck were 'urban heat island' readings, the Airport only reported TWO.
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@dang
I actually have a couple that are professional grade setups that follow these guidelines, they are in normally agreement with my not so well setup within a couple degrees.
I live out in the woods nearly surrounded by lakes and swamp..
If anything I *should* be seeing cooler temperatures in the summer.
It's interesting that I match the airport in more moderate but still sunny without wind weather of 85F to about -20F.
Every time it gets beyond that the results are rather predictably different.
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@Isaiah
This year has been quite hard on our plants as well.
Most of our trees are doing well, even the ones I transplanted this spring.
With what should be plenty suitable watering the more water hungry garden plants are not doing well.
The ground is damp as I have kept it all other years, I even tried adding an extra watering time to the timers when they started looking bad with no help.
Most of our tomatoes plants are still puny acting very stressed yet trying to produce tomatoes..
But the big boy tomatoes and all of our peppers are all loving it and doing outstanding.
All melons died long ago but cucumbers are trying to take over that real estate ( never seen them get THIS big of plants)
It has been an odd gardening year to say the least, but then I guess I have been saying that since about 2007.
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send some of that hot air up here...its been the coldest summer on record !!
not to mention the last few winters as well...!
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Neither here nor there:
Local mini-airport / AFB / weather hub is maybe 4 miles away?
My car, Prius :-\ , even sitting still, almost always says within 2F of what the radio says, except in mall parking lot type situations.
Some other cars will report >20F different in less severe circumstances.
I would guess it is localized to an island, or the housing.
Its not like they stuck a $500 thermometer in a car, right?
G-
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Wolvenar and all
It seems to be the Cherry trees that are taking it the hardest the apple trees are holding on to their leaves .
I contacted the place I got them and they told me to soak them about 10 gallons a day!
What I did was I took old car tires 235x15's and with the saws all cut out one side wall then I took my Disc grinder and cut the bead on the sidewall not cut out then took the saws all and cut across the tread and side wall so I can get it off the tree at a later date if they grow.Then I put them around the tree with the side with the side wall still in up,and took a twine string and tied them back in shape and filled them with leaves and old hay to help mulch and hold moisture.otherwise the chickens and other critters scratch the mulch away.
The cherry I planted last year was doing good had many blossoms that got frosted but it kept going til the heat hit and now has lost all the leaves.
The guy told me to keep watering it , and said if it is still green it should make it.
That's why I haven't been here much lately I was either covering things so they didn't freeze or watering trees then the garden.
sweet corn and melons are getting scarce around here. wal mart has some but not real good. we bought a big seeded water melon from them and cut it open and looked like it was cooked inside was all soft and acky tasting, will go to the chicken's.
I've babbled enough ,
Isaiah
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Around here keeping leaves etc around our fruit trees would be a death sentence.
Fungi, such as black knot love such places to get a foothold in the bark..
An infection that low would be a certain end to the tree.
Just my experience.
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Thats what the seller recommended , i may change it later to one of the commercial mulches.
i'm new to this fruit tree thing and at this point i don't know if I bought them from a good place!
is there a spray or something for the fungi?
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It's a tricky deal working with fruit trees.
I am certainly not an expert but I have learned a few tricks along the way.
Main thing I learned.. It's a balance game.
There are a few chemical treatments out there, I am not to sure if I trust many of them on trees producing something I would want to eat.
I have used a copper suspension on chokecherry, apple, plum etc.. Timing and concentration build up have to be considered even with that.
Many chemical treatments that are known to really work well to regain control of infections are rather scary to me how toxic they seem.
The copper suspension works ok, but really is only best if used with mechanical means of removing infections, and keeping the possibilities of infections low. A healthy tree helps a LOT to keep the infections at bay, but many things that keep trees healthy normally can cause fungi.
Keeping them watered to help weather a hot/dry spell can lead to root rot, or infection.
So you can probably see where I am going with this.
I am guessing birds have a good deal to do with spreading black knot, so I have a few things in place to lure them away, and deter them from the fruit trees close to the house.
Like I said its a balance game, you just have to keep an eye on the plants and trees and see what works, immediate danger from the heat might be the best thing to worry about. but if it were me I would move the leaves back and let dry every so often and inspect the trunk.
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Another good reason not to mulch up too close is rodents. Here in the snow belt, they burrow in, make a home and dine on your tree bark and inner live layers.
Like Wolv says, it is all about balance. Wet enough to allow healthy grown but not so wet as to encourage nasties.
We use lots of mulch but only use it well back from the base of trees. Have to keep them healthy so the friggin deer can dine on them. :o
Tom
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Thank you both for the info .
how far back would you recommend Tom ?
its under 80 deg here today so i may pull the mulch back and let it dry.
these trees are small about 5' and about the diameter of your index finger.
Yes I dont like to use chemicals on anything but some times we have to.
Isaiah
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I went out and dug down to the ground and the tree trunks were wet so I dug around them a bout the width of my hand so now they have a 10- inch or better area with no mulch.
We have been having some rain and not having to water them so much I hope they will make it.
Where I dug the mulch back should make like a bowl and hold the water if I have to water them in the future.
They are calling for mid 80's this week end so Ill probably have to put on the winter underwear.
Isaiah
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The trees seem to be holding on at this point .
We have had some rains so i haven't watered them and I see new growth.
Now i need to find a sparrow trap or plans to make one , they are getting my chicken feeders and the pea fowl feeders
also and there is a big flock that recently turned up.
Dose any one have any input on this?
Isaiah
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English Sparrows? Eliminate some of the males, and the flock will leave. Worked here anyway.
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how do you tell which ones are the mails?
I have been thinking of going out with a shot gun and some trap loads
and try a flock shoot,. but it rained all day here!
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The males have a little round brown bullseye in the middle of their breast. One of natures cruel jokes I guess.
Good luck, as they are not native to north america, so really shouldn't be here.
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Looks like it's finally starting to cool off, will be 57f tonight, and then lows in the mid 60's next week.
Storms last night cooled us off from 87f to 72f in about 30 minutes time.
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We have been in the 80's or below and rain every few days.
hopefully some things will survive.
What has happened to the Frogs ?
We don't see or hear them like we use to.
I think We are in trouble with Mother Nature
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What has happened to the Frogs ?
We don't see or hear them like we use to.
I live on 22 acres right at the edge of town. We have a couple of modest dams (the larger is about 100' dia and 20' deep). We've planted about a thousand trees in the time we've been here, and we use no poison. The place is crawling with frogs, at least 6 different species. It's rare to lift a rock, or a plant pot, or even the hood of the car and NOT find frogs.
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We deal with thousands of frogs here all summer as well
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Lack of frogs might (only might) be due to the dry spell you went through Isaiah. Pretty adaptable species though.
We had a killer frost June 16 a few years back, right after the hummingbirds arrived. Killed off all but a few. It's taken
a few years, but the populations are more or less back to normal.
Keep your fingers crossed, maybe they'll rebound.
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BJ
I hope so .
I do have one that stays in and around the horse tank.
The tank is covered on 3 sides so the frog is pretty safe in there.
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Not sure if this guy is a frog or a toad but he was camped out on the back corner of the pickup today so in light of this post I grabbed a couple pictures. The frogs are singing here this year just later than usual due to no real spring rains until a week or so ago. Still way behind on moisture but not desert dry like all Spring.
(http://pics.ww.com/d/453931-2/100_5350.JPG)
(http://pics.ww.com/d/453934-2/100_5351.JPG)
(http://pics.ww.com/d/453937-2/100_5352.JPG)
I have heard that frogs are very sensitive to pollution,habitat changes, etc. So would expect them to be more scarce if those things happen locally.
Recent rains make it almost loud out on the screened porch from frogs in the creek bed below the house.
Tom
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Ask a Frog . . .
What is holding that bridge together ?
"Rivit"
What is on the side of your Body ?
"Rib-bit"
What happens when you Die ?
"Croak"
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While all toads are part of the frog family that one I posted is a toad. Dry, bumpy skin is the big clue. Amy said that and I did some Googling because I was not sure what the difference was.
Just saying...
Tom
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Tom
That looks to me to be a toad.
If dogs get hold of them they can make a dog sick.
Yes this area is remote but a lot of corporate farming going on so,
I expect agricultural pollution is the problem.
I did see one of those little tree frogs in the yard today.
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Tom
That looks to me to be a toad.
If dogs get hold of them they can make a dog sick.
Yes this area is remote but a lot of corporate farming going on so,
I expect agricultural pollution is the problem.
I did see one of those little tree frogs in the yard today.
Looks very like a Perons Tree Frog to me.