Thank you, fantasia_kitty and stargazer for the info about the Tropic of Cancer and USA. Recently we were watching a program which followed the presenter's travels along the Tropic of Capricorn. He started at Namibia, went through Botswana, Mozambique and Madagascar, crossing Australia, of course, from probably north of Caernarvon, WA, through Alice Springs (and Uluru) to Longreach and Rockhampton in Queensland, before going to Antofagasta, Chile, Northern Argentina, Paraguay and ending at Rio or somewhere near, in Brazil.

I missed most of the Australian leg, which I would have liked to see. But I've also wondered what a similar program would look like along the Tropic of Cancer, and what countries would be involved. And yes, I wondered if or where it would touch USA.

Enjoy the snow and coolness whilst you still have it, believe me. It is supposed to be Autumn here, Down Under, and for a day or two it even felt like it, being quite cool. But it is still hot, though not quite as bad as beforehand. The humidity is getting to me though, and Northern Territory, northern Western Australia and Queensland still getting cyclones apparently.

I don't think we could afford a winter that is too mild.

Recently we were watching a program which followed the presenter's travels along the Tropic of Capricorn.

Oooh, that would be interesting.

I don't think we could afford a winter that is too mild.

Stupid, newbie American question. What kind of agriculture do you have in Australia? Kansas is almost entirely agriculture, we grow mostly wheat and raise cattle, so that's why we're so dependent on rain (or snow) here.

Speaking of which, it's raining right now and I've heard a few peals of thunder as well.

Lots of rain here too, fantasia, though no thunder I'm aware of. The ground is frozen and the snow is rapidly melting, so there's scattered flooding. The inch or so of rain forecast here today won't help the drought much since it's all running off. Fog and freezing rain are in the cards for the next 24 hours, with snow coming tomorrow too (we're on the edge of another storm moving northeast through Kansas toward Iowa and Wisconsin; Des Moines may get up to a foot of snow tomorrow).

Much of North America "springs ahead" tonight to Daylight Saving Time...making for later sunsets and later stargazing sessions.

Stupid, newbie American question. What kind of agriculture do you have in Australia? Kansas is almost entirely agriculture, we grow mostly wheat and raise cattle, so that's why we're so dependent on rain (or snow) here.

I was watching a program on Friday night about the Dust Bowl of the 1930's, which will finish next week. It appears that Kansas is semi-arid in climate and too much tilling, not enough planting of trees, a too-great reliance on grain-growing, and a prolonged drought led to those disastrous conditions.

Much of Australia is also semi-arid, just like New Mexico (the program did mention that state), Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. We also tend to have similar sorts of weather conditions. Except for some reason our tornados don't ever seem as bad as yours. But then our mountains aren't so high either. Nor do we have rivers as big, as long and with so much water as the Colorado, the Missouri, the Mississippi and other subsidiary waterways that I may not know off-hand. During drought conditions we have also had dust storms, in particular at the end of 2009. The two dust storms had a distinctly reddish tinge, since they came off the desert in Western New South Wales.

In Queensland along the coast we get sugar-cane farming, centred around Mackay. I know all about that, since I still have relatives involved in that industry, I believe. There, as well as northern New South Wales, they also grow tropical fruits like pineapple, rockmelons (cantaloupes) and bananas, which is why Queenslanders are jokingly called banana-benders, elsewhere in Australia. Some of the crops we grow further inland and in the south include wheat, canola, corn and fruit. In some parts of New South Wales we even have cotton-growing, though this is a water-intensive crop to grow.

Wine-making is quite an industry in most states of Australia, especially around the Margaret River area in Western Australia (near -comparatively speaking- to where IloveFauns is), the Barossa Valley near where W4J is situated, and in the Hunter Valley, north of here. Some of our best agricultural land in NSW is around the Riverina area. This is around the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, Murray and Darling Rivers. The Darling, which flows into the Murray river, and some of the Darling's tributaries such as the Castlereagh, Macquarie and others have a distressing tendency to dry up during drought conditions.

We, that is, Australia as a whole, rear beef cattle in Northern Australia for export, whether WA, Qld or NT. We have dairying along the New South Wales southern coast, down into Victoria, and in Tasmania, in particular. We also raise sheep for wool and meat, as well as other livestock, like chickens, pigs etc. When there is a drought or worse, a bushfire, there is a lot of suffering involved. Flooding, and the damage it causes, can be also fairly horrendous for the farmers. The toll on native wild-life isn't helpful, either, since these animals are what makes this country unique in the world.

We also have mining, as well as manufacturing in most Australian cities. Possibly Canberra is an exception due to it's being the capital of Australia.

I hope that answers your quite reasonable question. Our daylight-saving doesn't stop until the end of March.

In Wa we don't even have daylight savings. Daylight savings didn't bother me much. To be honest If we have it or not I don't really care. A few years ago there was a huge debate about it.

Sorry, IlF, I didn't know. WA is on a different time zone from the rest of Australia, anyway. I don't know if NT and SA have Daylight saving, either. Queensland doesn't, which is much weirder for the remaining 3 states which are all in the same time zone as Queensland. You leave Sydney by plane at 9.00 am and arrive at Brisbane at 9.00 am, having spent an hour getting there. But it is two hours difference the other way. The clocks don't go back here until 7th April.

Oh thats alright we use to, well we had a trial between 2006-2009 i think it was and everyone voted it out. I think the same thing happened in queensland.

Yes, SA has Daylight Savings. Not sure about NT.

I'm so sick of these endless days and nights of humidity. I live in South Australia, we normally only get dry heat (and the very occasional humid day). Also, it's Autumn, not Summer! Get a clue, weather! I too hope for a real Autumn and Winter this year.

Ugh, W4J, even hearing you mention humid days and nights makes me . Not looking forward to our July, which is typically such nasty weather throughout.

Fresh snow, ( you never want to use the old stuff ) would be brought inside, on a plate where the maple sap was boiled. They would take some of the thick leftover stuff in the kettle, and pour it on the plate of snow, and there ya go, instant treat for the kids. ( and some adults if any was left ).

Oh yes, that is so popular up here in the Maple Sugar Bushes. Speaking of which, the weather the past couple of days has been just right for the sap to flow: above-freezing days with sun; below-freezing nights. Last year's March was a disappointment to many farms around the area as the entire month was far too warm. This year is turning out differently, thankfully. Yesterday and today were warmer, but tomorrow the temperature is dropping just enough to make it still feel like winter, yet not bitterly cold. The prognosis is for a fairly good maple syrup/sugar season this year.

With so much rain today, our snow is nearly gone but March can bring some good storms yet, so here's hoping. Yeah, everyone's sick of the snow but me.

Which side of Canada do you live in, johobbit? I expect the Eastern side in summer would be more like our South-Eastern seaboard here in Australia, though it is only in the Alps around Thredbo or in Tasmania that we get much snow. We do get some snow 50 km from Sydney, in mid-winter, but only for a day or two at a time.

Yes, SA has Daylight Savings. Not sure about NT.
I'm so sick of these endless days and nights of humidity. I live in South Australia, we normally only get dry heat (and the very occasional humid day). Also, it's Autumn, not Summer! Get a clue, weather! I too hope for a real Autumn and Winter this year.

Well, the Northern Territory only has two seasons per year. The Big Wet and the Big Dry. So I doubt they would need Daylight Saving, anyway, since they are above the Tropic of Capricorn, even if they are on the same time zone as SA.

It is only March, not even Easter yet. It will be the Autumn Equinox next week, on Thursday or Friday. It doesn't really cool down until April, even May, even in Sydney. We should be getting more storms right now, as summer begins to break up, but I don't know what happens in SA. According to the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre (Kakadu, NT), and also D'harawal people from the South Sydney area, there are actually six seasons throughout the year, not four. These seasons are determined by the behaviour of plants and animals, not by the month of the year.

Interesting bit of info there, wagga.

I'm with jo about humidity...it'll be here soon enough! I'll enjoy this weather while I can.

We too got rain, about 2 cm, on Saturday; with the corresponding snow melt there was some localized flooding, and very dense fog that evening.

Sunday evening brought a quick 6 inches of wet heavy 'heart attack' snow; the roads outside of town were quite treacherous with the thick snow falling and blowing across the highway. If it hadn't been for the reflectors placed alongside the interstate I would have had to make my best quess as to where the road was. A routine 20-minute rural trip took over an hour. But all is white outside, and quite pretty, if one can watch it from indoors rather than trying to drive in it.

And with our days about 12 hours long now, even the big snowfalls tend to melt away in a week or less, quite different than in the depths of winter when they're essentially permanent.

johobbit. I was wondering if you have ever heard of tapping birch trees for sap. I watched a youtube video of someone doing so, and explaining how it was quite healthy.
Melting is starting here in earnest. We have the misfortune of living near the base of a hill, so there is plenty of runoff. Add to that the piles of snow melting on both sides of the walkway makes for a fun shuffle to the garage. It can be wet, slushy, or frozen solid, with a nice slippery sheen on top. Nice breeze right now, so I'm hoping that evaporation is eliminating some.

wagga, we are a ways east of the middle of Canada, but still nowhere near the eastern shores ... in southern Ontario. Our winters in the past were totally and abundantly snowy; in the last decade, however, the snow has eased up a bit, although we still get plenty, with last winter (2011-2012) being a rare and unpleasant exception.

'Tis interesting hearing about your country, wagga and IlF.

These seasons are determined by the behaviour of plants and animals, not by the month of the year.

That premise is fascinating, and makes much sense.

the roads outside of town were quite treacherous with the thick snow falling and blowing across the highway.

Oh man, we can relate here. Such intense driving at those times, indeed. Very gorgeous, but, yes, from a window or playing in it, rather than from a car.

And with our days about 12 hours long now, even the big snowfalls tend to melt away in a week or less, quite different than in the depths of winter when they're essentially permanent.

Ditto! We can get some doozer snowstorms in March, but any accumulation doesn't last like it would in January. In fact, just this morning we have had very heavy flurries off and on. So pretty!

johobbit. I was wondering if you have ever heard of tapping birch trees for sap.

Interesting. I have not, though. We have a birch in our front yard (along with a large crimson maple). *considers tapping

Our melting with all the rain on Monday was very significant. *weeps* There are scatterings of snow here and there and certainly lots of large banks from snowplows clearing in public parking lots, but for the most part, grass is visible in most places. However, I hear that aside from possibly getting a rain/snow mix on Saturday, more snow is arriving next Tuesday.

More snow for LOTS, and heat for us in Southern California. After getting 1" of rain this past Friday-Sunday, we hit over 80F/26.7C yesterday and will get over 85F/29.4C today.

Will start to cool off again by next Monday.

85F/29.4C?? It is only March. I'd hate to see what Southern California weather would be like in a midsummer heatwave. I'd say then that 27C would be a nice moderate summer day, but a bit hot for spring.

wagga, we are a ways east of the middle of Canada, but still nowhere near the eastern shores ... in southern Ontario.

Thank you, I expect there are mountains between you and the coast? I am trying to remember whatever geography I ever managed to learn at high school, which was years ago, I'm sad to say. And I wasn't all that great at it, either.

There were distinct weather zones, such as the Mediterranean climate, such as you get around the Mediterranean , Adelaide and Perth, California, I think, parts of South America and in South Africa. The eastern coasts and far inland are supposed to be Eastern humid temperate or something. Of course there are tropical climates such as in the South Seas or Queensland's eastern coast. There are deserts, semi-arid and polar climates as well.

I very much fear that I got lost on the North American continent somewhere in the badlands, long before I got to the Great Lakes, which really would have been interesting to learn about.