Winter is over here in El Paso for now. We are expecting a high of about 74 degrees tomorrow. I don't expect more than small drops as our spring begins to pave the way for the long summer. This means shorts weather for me.

sandyentersNarnia, at least your nights cool down, even if the days are warm. Is air conditioning common where you are?

stargazer, it was warm-ish here today as well (6C/nearly 43F), and the melting was quite noticeable, 'though because of the good amount of snow we've had since Christmas, there still is a lot left. Ditto, 'gazer: hopefully the thaw won't come all at once, because then there will be some serious flooding. The next few days are forecast to be cold, but towards the end of the week the temperatures are supposed to rise to 9C/48F, with ... rain!

I just heard on the radio that we will dramatically drop from a current 5C/41F now to -25C/-13F tomorrow night! Usually February holds only a few mild days (slightly above freezing), but it's March that can go back and forth between even major snowstorms to almost balmy.

*nods at Ithilwen* Yes, that winter sun can sure be deceiving at times.

Enjoy the shorts weather, Fencer.

South Australia's weather is fine but Perth, Western Australia, has been experiencing some dangerous fires. The clean-up from floods and cyclones still continues in Queensland.

Thanks for the update, Warrior. I hope things progress smoothly with the flooding clean-up. How awful about the fires around Perth!

In our recent thaw, 1/4 of our snow melted, I estimate. It has dropped below freezing here again, though, but not for long. Rain is a-comin' and this Friday's high is forecasted to be 13C/55F! Then back to below freezing by Saturday with flurries the days following.

*watches their thermometer bounce up and down; up and down*

I understand. Two weeks ago we smashed record low temps. This week, we are breaking day time high temps. In two months we won't need to worry about fluctuating temps. It will be one weather forecast for six months: hot with a chance of blowing dirt.

Temperatures can fluctuate a lot here as well, especially in the spring. Snow and tornadoes just a day apart, sometimes.

It's pushing 50F/10C here for the first time this year, and the melt is on! Fog is likely tonight from all the moisture in the air. We're down to about 10 inches (25 cm) of snow cover on the grass, and at this rate we might actually be able to see the bare ground in a few days! But not to worry; cooler temps and snow are in the forecast for tomorrow night into the weekend.

The Weather Channel has been talking about the X-2 class solar flare from sunspot group 1158 today, mentioning the possibility of Northern or Southern Lights the next couple nights. The notice on Spaceweather indicates a 45% chance for high-latitude viewers. Not a sure thing, but worth checking for, especially if you live north of about 50 degrees latitude (or south, in the Southern Hemisphere).

Cold and wet here starting today and on into Sunday. Friday and Saturday look to have the most rain and cold. Glad we had a dry spell the last couple of weeks.

Rain is a-comin' and this Friday's high is forecasted to be 13C/55F! Then back to below freezing by Saturday with flurries the days following.

Looks like summer weather for LOTS.
Still winter here.

we've had sunshine the past few days and the winter sunsets are priceless (although, unfortunatly their kinda short ) it's been cold though, -20°C (-4°F) in the mornings and -15°C (5°F) in the day. It's a pleasant sort of cold though, when the snow squeaks under your boots when you walk and the air is fresh and crisp.......I still would it all melt though I'm sick and tired of winter, there's far to much snow, far to much ice and I'm waiting impatiently for spring

We've had lots of sunshine and mild days It's been wonderful! It's a little cloudy today, but the sun's supposed to come back out later. We've had an unusual winter though, several snow and ice event and it's been really cold, so these mild days have been especially great !

It will be one weather forecast for six months: hot with a chance of blowing dirt.

Whew! That sounds hot and dry!

Rather random, but somewhat related: has anyone hear read the cool-io children's story Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs? (The book—and illustrations—is such fun; the movie? meh.)

Well, all I can say is I wish we lived above 50° latitude to possibly catch a sight of those Northern Lights! In our first married years, we lived 'up north', at 60° latitude, and were privileged to see them on rare occasions. One night, while driving north out of the town, the sky was spectacularly (and almost spookily) dancing with eerie red lights, which, we eventually realized, was a rather off-the-norm display of the aurora borealis. Amazing!

It was rather spring-like here, Glimmie, for just over a day. Then very strong winds swept in last night, which shook the windows and doors, bringing with it arctic air once more. Not that I'm complaining. And with the winds the sky cleared in the evening so that we had the rare chance of seeing a -8 iridium flare in the winter months (which are usually cloudy). Such a treat, as always. It was heading from the NE - SE to the left of Orion's belt, and verrrry bright!

wild rose, I love the squeaking sound on the dry snow of shoes or boots. To me, there is something very comforting about that. Stay safe and warm!

Glad you're enjoying the mild spell, Lucy85. And welcome to the Weather thread.

I would estimate 75% of our snow melted over the past few days, but with the cold upon us again, the snow that fell this morning—four hours of fluffy, thick flakes falling (Narnia snow, beeeaaauutiful)—has helped freshen things up again. Tomorrow evening and overnight we are to receive around 8-10 more inches of the fresh white stuff. Am I happy? Is the moon round?

Just a couple of hours north of us many main roads were closed because of 0 visibility with the excessive snow they received. And this long weekend every year we usually are up north, but couldn't this year for a variety of reasons. Pity. It would be gorgeous hiking through the woods and hills, and looking out on nothing but mounds of pristine white!

What's that old saying? It's not over till it's over?

Here comes another foot of snow with up to half an inch of freezing ice and lots of wind too...

It's been getting warm in the south now for a few days, the highs have been 70 and next week it's going to get higher.

Ooh, 'gazer, that's quite the storm! Our similar winter forecasts are so different than your balmy one, Damsel!

Our snow began about an hour ago and is very heavy now: it looks like each 'flake' is comprised of about 50 flakes—huge and numerous. No star-gazing tonight! It's so gorgeous outside, the beauty almost hurts. A winter wonderland! *points to her new sig* I love watching it fall against evergreens, especially.The snow is supposed to come down all night, and since it's a provincial holiday tomorrow, there is no hurry to get it cleared early in the a.m. I do like shoveling snow, though, so will want to get out in the pristine whiteness asap, I'm thinking.

How is it your way, stargazer?

Summer's coming up and boy! The humid is going crazy!

*cringes at the very mention of humidity* I think that sticky heaviness is what I dislike most about summer.

jo, as it happens the storm track moved slightly north of the earlier-predicted path. Here in south-central Minnesota we were awakened Sunday morning with the thundersnow Gymfan mentioned earlier in this thread. The snow was the wet heavy stuff that was so thick we could barely see across the street. But we only got about 4 inches/10 cm before it turned to sleet and freezing rain. The streets were like skating rinks. The heavy snow (15-20 inches/40-50 cm) moved north, to the Twin Cities. I'll be driving back up there tomorrow, so I'll get to see it all firsthand.

It's snowing again right now, rather heavily again, but it's actually rather pretty as long as no driving is required.