Wednesday, 28 November 2012

Heatwave

Spring is almost over and we're heading into Summer so things are warming up nicely. This Spring has been very dry compared with most years and perhaps a bit warmer than normal. But the pattern is currently very strange. Rather than seeing the progression of fronts from the Southern Ocean, which bring cooler temperatures and wet weather, the pressure cells are stuck in one place and bringing progressively hotter conditions. Today's temperature is expected to be around 29C and it certainly felt like that as I was cycling home! And the next couple of days will see things in the low 30s. At the same time the system is feeding humid air in off the Coral Sea so it's a bit like living in a sauna. Big storm clouds are building up during each morning and by late afternoon the flash of lightning starts up. We've had the odd shower, but not much rain. It's the nature of these storms that they are spotty and one has to be under one to get a lot of rain. Three days ago we had 6mm of rain (about 1/4 inch), but the folks a few km away had 200mm (8 inches) and hail the size of golf balls causing a lot of damage.

Poor Dot is trying to plant new shrubs in the garden, but the soil currently resembles concrete because of the lack of rain. The garden, however, still looks green because of earlier cooler temperatures, and some watering when I'd fertilised the lawn. As I type this, lots of dark clouds are hovering around and the bureau of meteorology shows storm showers to the southeast of us. With a bit of luck, they'll come this way minus the hail. While it's 30C+ here, 200 km to the west the temperatures are reaching into the 40s, so I shouldn't complain too much.

AS

3 comments:

Richard said...

I remember that some years ago your car suffered badly from a hail storm and I can't remember if you had to write it off or whether it was repairable. Do you keep your car under cover now? Mine is in the garage but Jean's stays out but we never get hailstones like you experience. We are currently suffering from unusual amounts of rain but there is no flooding anywhere near our flat in Poole (luckily). Christmas shopping has been the theme of this week. Richard.

Richard said...

I should have added that it is also getting colder. I run our heating simply on the thermostat at 20*C so when it gets colder the radiators give us heat. Most people use a clock and have no heating at night but we prefer an even temperature.
Jean and Jenson are upstairs making cakes together and I hear squeals of delight floating down the stairs. Oh to be 3 years old again. Richard.

Wayward Rambler said...

If hail is likely we put the cars under cover. We have both a car-port and garage at home.