I read on here about many of your chilly 30º temps and how you are rushing to prepare your plants for the cold. Then I hear the excitement and panic in the voices of our weathermen on the news as they talk about our temperatures dropping tonight. I freak out for a second, thinking of my own tender plants outside. I mean, all it takes is one frost for some to burn. Then I remember they are talking about 60º Sheesh!

Well I for one can't wait for our first hard frost! I still need to lift dahlias, cannas, and callas and I can't do that until after the killing frost. I'm ready to be done for the season!

I know what you mean, Cheryl! I moved from NJ to coastal WA, and I was used to temeratures from 0 to 100 (F).

Then my WA co-workers said it was "freezing" or "burning hot" anytime it went outside the range from 60 to 80 F.

And for half the year, if the sun comes out for ten minutes, from behind the clouds / overcast / fog / mist, it's a topic of conversation for days.

Ha ha Rick, as a native Washingtonian, my ideal day is 70 and overcast. Not too hot, no harsh sunshine, can work comfortably in the yard, perfect.

My killing frost is historically around Halloween. I've had some very light frosts lately, but none that have frosted the grass, just light scraping on the car windshield.

Husband's family are in Seattle and Olympia. I was laughing so hard when one sunny day (emphasize "one" LOL) when we were visiting, it was 60º . People were laying out in their bathing suits on the lawn! Kids were playing in the sprinklers. I was bundled up in front of the car heater!

Hi Deb

I must be closer to the water than you are (like three miles to Puget Sound / Possesion Sound). My elevation is around 220 feet.

Everett's low temps have typically been around 46 for the last few weeks, with just 4 down to 41-43, and three of those were in the last 5 nights.

(I'm using The Weather Channel data, I don't have a recording met lab in my yard! But no frost on the pumpkin yet.)

Cheryl,

Nice image! I'm puzzled by the local habit of wearing shorts in late fall. Showing off? Or storing up Vitamin D from low-angle sun to get them through the winter?

Once I visited San Diego CA (which must have very little rain, ever). They were having a very light drizzle, which I would have called a "mist" if I had noticed it. Since you could tell what part of the sky the sun was in, I wouldn't even have called it "overcast".

Well, mothers were cutting holes in plastic garbage bags to make raincoats to "protect" their children from the terrifying downpour. I guess they thought you could melt, like the Wicked Witch of the West.

One clerk in a store poked his head outside to see the mist, then bravely announced that he was going across the street and would bring back food for anyone who needed it. It was like he was offering to plunge into a raging torrent to save people from resorting to cannibalism.

Rick, I'm about the same as you (3 miles to the Sound, about 200 feet high) but about 30 miles further north. I've been recording outside temps at 8 am and it's been 35-40 all week, colder on the clear days, warmer with the fog. My husband is of the camp that one wears shorts and sandals until November. I think it's denial. I rather like to bundle up and be warm.

Except for summers in So Cal as a college student, DH lived in Seattle until coming to the Tropical South in his late 20's. Now he watches shows on TV where supposedly it takes place in Seattle. He says, "No, that's Canada. It doesn't rain like that in Seattle". Apparently we all have our definition of what rain is no matter where we are from.

Here in the South, we say, "If you don't like the weather, just wait." It is very changeable. Tuesday it was 88º. The next day it was 66º. The variances can make us crazy, not to mention our plants! Our Houston rains can be torrential causing temporary flooding as we cannot handle the downpours. It simply has no where to go. The infamous Tropical Storm Allison in 1989 dropped 37" in 24 hours making the airport an island and flooding several neighborhoods. We've handled hurricanes better than TSAllison! I guess it's no wonder the weatherman is always freaking out. The weather changes constantly here giving them something to talk about.

Deb,

Wow, 30 miles north makes that much difference? I'm guessing the 8 am temp diff is around 10 degrees!\

>> My husband is of the camp that one wears shorts and sandals until November.

I used to say that if EVERYONE wore short sleeves outside, our body heat would postpone winter. But I don't say that any more, despite a thicker layer of under-the-skin body insulation.


>> "If you don't like the weather, just wait."

When I lived in Boston, it was: "If you don't like the weather, just wait 15 minutes."

When I visisted Honolulu, they siad that the timing of the brief afternoon rain shower was so predictable that they could give directions using it: "Go straight down this street, then take a right at the rain shower".

Once your body adjusts to a climate, it reacts differently to previously "normal" temps. When we first started spending winters down here I would be in shorts all the time with never more than a sheet on the bed all winter. A couple years ago I went out and bought an electric blanket and I use that puppy a lot in the winter. I dug out my hoodies and fleece jackets and I wear them as soon as the sun goes down from Dec to Mar. If it is 70°F I am in a big coat and long pants with the heater on in the car My friends who come down for a few weeks are laughing that I think it is so cold but it 'feels' cold and that is all that really matters. That said, I'm ready for a little chill, nights are still close to 80°F and snuggling under that electric blanket sounds pretty good. Nothing below 70° though, that's my limit for cold. If I were just choosing a place to live based solely on weather I would be very close to the equator and not have to deal with changes in temps at all.

Caveat -- my thermometer is about a hundred years old, came from one of my grandparents - the old style that screws into the wall outside my window, twirled so I can see it from my desk. It's under a covered but open porch so is not affected by sunshine except for a couple hours in the morning. As can be seen from this rather blurry picture, it's a rusty old thing. Seems to work though.

Saw in today's paper that we are supposed to get down to 50 I think on Wed. or Thurs. night...which means inland (where I am) will be lower. Gotta find someone to help me move bigger pots into the GH and bite the bullet and try to light the pilot on the furnace. So not ready for winter temps yet says me pouting