@waggawerewolf27 It's been mixed, but from here on it's apparently going to be dry and warm. Anything over 20 is warm, and sometimes we get into the late 20s in my city (more frequently elsewhere).

High twenties is okay. It is when temperatures get into the high 30's or worse, over 40C that it starts to get too hot. We've only just begun to start to recover from the 2019 -2020 bashing weatherwise we have had. NZ always sounds such a lovely green place compared to here, with that lovely snowcapped mountain chain which featured so very well in The Lord of the Rings.

The last week we reverted to high 30'sC mark, but then there was a cool change overnight. Still, after a pleasant six weeks or so of summer, I shouldn't complain too much. There have been articles in the paper suggesting that last January's bushfire smoke has helped cool the place down a bit by blocking the sun, but then such articles go on to say the drop in air pollution caused by COVID-19, diminishing manufacturing, has caused a warming effect by  more sunshine reaching the ground. Can't win, can we?

@ stargazer, I do hope things cool down for you for a bit, in what is left of winter upstairs. Too much or too little of anything  is a bad thing, weatherwise. And if a cold January is to be expected maybe it is for the best. 

48.7C, @waggawerewolf27 ... I cannot even imagine, wagga! Indeed, 24C sounds like a comfortable summer's day (as long as there is no humidity involved ).

Posted by: @stargazer

January is surprisingly warm so far ...

Temperatures just above freezing by day and nowhere near 0F/-17C at night, which would be more typical for this time of year.

Likewise here! Our daytime temperatures have been mostly just above or on freezing since the new year began, while nighttime drops only a bit to a few degrees below 0C/32F. Our most recent snowfall (at the beginning of January) has lasted quite well, with only some patches giving way to bare ground. It has been icy off and on too, given the hovering-around-0C temps. But this week all that changes, as snow is forecast most days. It has been very cloudy here for a couple of weeks, with only the briefest of breaks, and while I enjoy the snow, I have really missed viewing the night sky, even every few nights. I find that when it is not visible for awhile, things have really (and understandably) shifted, so I always have to reorient myself.

Anyway, back to the weather: we are looking forward to having everything totally white again this week. Even as I type now, it is snowing. The temperatures are dropping too. Nothing like what we often have in January (bitter, Arctic-cold air), but lower than they have been recently.

Last night and the first half of the day today were very rainy and cold! (Northern Kansas got between 6-9" of snow.) We completely crushed our previous record for rainfall amount on this day.... about 1.25" I think. But the funny part was, I was doing school with my son and all of a sudden, he's like "Mom, there's a possum!" And, middle of the day, I turned around to see a sad, cold, very wet possum waddling along the neighbor's fence. I assume he'd been flooded out of wherever it was he had been staying and was looking for some place warm and dry. 

That storm passed to the south of here (though we received 4-6 inches of snow a few days ago).  Central Iowa is being hit pretty hard, with Des Moines on track to break a daily snowfall record (a recent report shows 10.3 inches at its airport).

I think I've seen one possum in my life, as I live north of their usual range, but they have been moving north over the years. (Similarly, I remember the novelty of seeing my first coyote on our first trip to Yellowstone back in 1985; now they've extended their range and are not too unusual around here).

Here in midsummer, we are going through three days of temperatures above 30 C (almost 90 F). I am grateful for a cool house to skulk in, using air flow through windows with curtains shut. It's a very dry city, and we have watering restrictions now - I can water on alternate days, before 3 pm and 9pm. (our water has to be available for drinking and putting out fires). Even at 9 am today, my arms felt the burn of the sun, as the hot temperature came early.
Drinking iced water, resting and reading, are the order of the day.

Could be worse, @coracle. My sister in Melbourne informed me the other day that they were expecting a top of 38 C there after an overnight low of 27. Now there's one thing I DON'T miss about Australia.  

Posted by: @fantasia

 I was doing school with my son and all of a sudden, he's like "Mom, there's a possum!" And, middle of the day, I turned around to see a sad, cold, very wet possum waddling along the neighbor's fence. I assume he'd been flooded out of wherever it was he had been staying and was looking for some place warm and dry. 

What on earth are possums doing in North Kansas, let alone as far north as I think Stargazer lives?? Trouble with possums are that those poor little darlings, however wet & miserable they look, can set up homes in roof cavities, where they can make life even more miserable for their unintended landlords & landladies.  Are there any sorts of rescue organisations that could help?   I know possums are a problem in New Zealand, having migrated from Eastern Australia, where Leadbeater's possum is the State emblem for Victoria & where possums could be really happy with Dame Edna Everage, if not Gloria.    (Sorry, Courtenay   )

It has been really hot these last few days, with temperatures in the 39C to 42C range yesterday, Australia Day. Typical! But  as hot as it has been, it still wasn't quite as over the top as last year. Today we are still a bit too warm due to the humidity. It is this skittery sort of rain where the humans try to avoid melting into puddles & plants have to race around to garnish every single drop of moisture available. Too much underlying heat to rain properly & not enough water for complete satisfaction. I'm sorry to hear about New Zealand's weather. I think there is something going on in the Tasman Sea judging by weather reports, with hot, dry weather systems coming in from the West, perhaps. 

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

What on earth are possums doing in North Kansas,

*chuckles* Kansas is a natural home/habitat to possums. And while I do live in town, I'm not terribly far from a massive wilderness park, so we have a lot of possums come through here (and other animals). I just don't normally see them during the day. 

Opossum map

In other news, it's REALLY cold here right now. The high today was 25F. 

@courtenay I think we reached 36 today. Tomorrow it changes, with a few welcome cool days, and rain, I hope.

Yes, I had a look at that link you had. Your possum doesn't look much like the Leadbeater's Possum I linked to. I've also linked to an Australian distribution map for the culprit in New Zealand's pesky possum problem, the brushtail possum  . Oddly your possums are marsupial as well? 

Speaking for the remainder of the other, more innocent possums, let us all hope for some rain. Proper, steady rain.  

    re the possum discussion. We have possums here, but I have never seen one during the day. However, come nighttime, there are a fair few in our area. Sometimes we hear a scuffle out on the back deck where we keep a handy compost pail, only to look  out and see a possum's behind with its tail way up in the air, as it turns vertical to dig through the compost for a tasty treat. Quite the sight.

We had a fairly major snowstorm here yesterday. A fresh snowfall is so lovely. The roads were treacherous, but 99.9% of the drivers know to be much more careful in these slippery conditions. The temperatures are dropping to our typical January temperatures—-24C/11.2F—in a day or so. As of now, they are some below freezing, so the snow will stay, hurrah! More snow is expected this coming Sunday.  

Our January hasn't had much snow, as the storms keep missing us to the south (once again today, Chicago and areas east of it are getting hit hard again). We do have some on the ground.

We're wrapping up January without going below 0F/-17C at all (on average we have 11 nights colder than 0F in January). It really has been mild. Next weekend, however, we should go below 0F, though not nearly as cold as it can be this time of year.

But we're almost to Groundhog Day, the approximate halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. There is a lot of winter left here but the days are getting longer now.

We had three lovely days in a row, but the entire midwest USA is about to take an arctic plunge (if you haven't already done so *looks at the northerners). Today was somewhere around 60F. I even had my back door wide open for some fresh air and sunshine. Next week highs are all in the upper teens (F) and low 20Fs. Yuck. 

60F. Sounds lovely! Maybe in a couple months or so. 😉

Winter has finally made an appearance here, with much colder temps (down to -20F/-29C) and wind chills pushing -40 likely by Sunday morning. It may be 10 days or more before we get out of the single digits F (-15C or so) for highs by day.

One local meteorologist posted on his Facebook page that we will be below 0F (-17C) continuously for a few days. One of the comments was (in true Minnesota fashion), "So, sweater weather then?"  

I'm more susceptible to cold now in my old age, I think. I see the crystal clear sunset (after more than a week of clouds) and eagerly anticipate stargazing...but then am chased inside by wind chills after just a few minutes.