Sure glad you had some rain, @stargazer! But really sorry to hear of the ongoing drought issues. Poor farmers. That's so tough.

Have those water restrictions been fully introduced, @waggawerewolf27?

It looks like this coming week could include some of our hottest, driest days yet this summer, peaking Saturday. This few days stretch (today until Sunday) is normally like July, but since July was more like August this year, it seems like they really have switched. However, at this time of year, heat spells never last long, and by Monday the heat and humidity will begin to lower.

There is a low chance of thunderstorms this afternoon, but if they don't come, I will need to start watering the gardens again: when needed, in the evenings I water the back; in the mornings, the front. That spreads this lengthy task out a bit. While it is very enjoyable and gives me time to look over each plant (hundreds) to see how they're doing, check on the weeding, etc, it is such a big job that splitting it up works better, particularly when it's hot out.  

A week from now, however, temperatures really drop to very comfortable, and I can walk again in the early morning hours, as they should be near single digits at night again.  

@jo: Morning temperatures are single digits here, still. As low as 2C yesterday morning, though by midday it has warmed up somewhat.  

Have those water restrictions been fully introduced,@waggawerewolf27?

It took until last autumn for much of regional NSW to be declared drought free, & much of that area had been put on maximum level water restrictions beforehand. Some restrictions may well have eased somewhat, but we will soon start hearing about it if we don't get more rain than we have been having. The corner of North Western NSW, "at the back of Bourke" really is desert, anyway.

Though level 2 or 3 urban restrictions in 2019 have been eased somewhat, in 2020, when we did get good rain, I never got the impression they were fully withdrawn, to be introduced above level 1 for a second time. So there will be no more lingering under a nice warm shower on a cold & frosty morning. It is more a matter of upping the ante, I think. The talk of increasing the height of the wall on Warragamba Dam has died down from when it was full to overflowing, last year. I don't know if our Desalination plant has been kept running as well, to make it more cost effective. 

I hope as the seasons break up you do get more rain where it is needed in North America. 

We woke up to some glorious thunder and rain yesterday morning, and the next few days may bring more soaking rains. Definitely welcome!

We have a bit of haze in the sky again due to wildfires out west. There are several fires burning in the forests of northeast Minnesota; the largest is about 22,000 acres and 0% contained. They're serious enough that the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is closed to paddlers and campers for the first time in 40 years, and cabins and rural homes in the area are being evacuated. The smoke plumes are visible in satellite images, being blown to the southeast over Lake Superior. Hopefully rain (or even snow) will come soon and help put them out.

The DNR also says that fall colors may be 3 or 4 weeks early this year, which means...any day now. Time to start planning trips.

I found this interactive map showing fall color trends for the Lower 48. It's based on large-scale trends and averages, but it's still interesting to advance the time and see what happens with the colors.

Rain, rain, glorious rain! We've had a wet week (by the standards of this summer) and it sounded delightful hearing the rain fall overnight.

Meteorological fall arrived here this week, and with it cooler temperatures. We're entering my favorite time of year, with fall colors, cooler temps, lower humidity, fewer bugs (though we've had almost no mosquitoes due to the drought), longer nights that allow for fires and stargazing...

It's starting to turn towards Fall. Not the weather yet, it's still hot, though that's going to change early next week. But the allergies are kicking in, and all of the bugs, particularly spiders, are showing up all over my yard getting ready for the winter. Many, many of my friends love this time of year, but I do not! I'm ready for one good snowfall and then Spring.  

I'm one of those people who love the fall, and while our weather is hinting at the change of seasons, we're not there quite yet. (Though some areas in northern Minnesota have already reported frost).

The high yesterday was a toasty 88F/31C.  And mosquitoes are starting to appear, really for the first time this summer, due to recent rain and heat after the summer drought.

We reported a wind gust of 64mph/103 km/hr this morning, and some towns reported trees down and building damage.

This upcoming weekend looks awesome for those of us who like the autumn.

On the whole it has been a cool spring, with minimum temperatures about the same as winter. We had an icy Antarctic blast this week, and today we had a 5.9 on the Richter scale earthquake in Mansfield, & Mount Buller in Victoria, which was felt as far away as Tasmania or Adelaide, even some parts of Sydney, plus aftershocks. Nobody has been killed, most are a bit surprised, but there has been some damage. That earthquake has been the largest seen in Australia since 1788. 

I saw a report on that quake in the news, wagga, including a comment on it being the largest in over 200 years.

Welcome to autumn (or spring)! The September equinox comes at 1921 UT today (2.21 pm CDT in my time zone). The sun is directly over the earth's equator and crosses the celestial equator on its apparent journey south.

Our weather has been glorious (at least for fall lovers). Highs around 65-70F (18C), low humidity, and crisp, clear nights. And I can enjoy stargazing without having to wait until late in the evenings.

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

today we had a 5.9 on the Richter scale earthquake in Mansfield, & Mount Buller in Victoria, which was felt as far away as Tasmania or Adelaide, even some parts of Sydney, plus aftershocks. Nobody has been killed, most are a bit surprised, but there has been some damage. That earthquake has been the largest seen in Australia since 1788. 

Ooh yes, my family in Victoria (sister in Melbourne and parents in Inverloch) felt that. No damage where they were, just a bit of a surprise, as you say. It rattled our roof (a traditional Aussie-style corrugated tin one) in Inverloch and Dad says our dog, Harry, barked it into submission. (Harry's a Toy Poodle who likes to think he's a fair bit bigger than he actually is.)

Back to the weather, it's starting to get a bit autumnal here in north-western England. We had a sort of mini-heatwave in the past couple of weeks — well, "heatwave" by British standards, meaning it went over 20°C sometimes and didn't rain — but a few days ago it was all misty and atmospheric in the morning (before fining up to a lovely sunny day) and the leaves are starting to change colour and blow away on the wind. It'll be interesting to see whether it gets colder here in winter than it does in the south-east of England, where I lived for nearly 10 years until just recently.

Posted by: @stargazer

I'm one of those people who love the fall

Huge ditto here. Autumn: the crisp temperatures, the changing leaves, the earthy, bonfire scent in the air, campfires, the earlier night skies all 'fire me up'. In fact, I must say that I love the shorter days, because now I can start my walk under the glorious night sky in the early morning hours (and walk into the dawn), and I don't have to stay up late to view the stars and planets in the evening. To me, this is the most wonderful time of the year.

Posted by: @fantasia

Many, many of my friends love this time of year, but I do not! I'm ready for one good snowfall and then Spring.

I do hope Spring comes early for you in 2022, fantasia, but that is truly not my wish for me.  

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

today we had a 5.9 on the Richter scale earthquake ... That earthquake has been the largest seen in Australia since 1788. 

Posted by: @courtenay

Dad says our dog, Harry, barked it into submission.

We have had balanced amounts of sun and rain this September, so everything is very, very lush. I love the look of the Autumn gardens, which become beautifully disheveled in some ways—wild-looking, and so appealing/attractive.

Our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend is coming up (October 9-11), so we're big into planning for that. The trees have barely begun to change their tones here, so they won't be at their peak at Thanksgiving, but should still be really lovely and quite colourful.  

Tonight there is a risk of frost, so I need to cover up a few plants that are not so hardy. The colder air means tomorrow morning's walk will be another beauty!

@Courtenay: It'll be interesting to see whether it gets colder here in winter than it does in the south-east of England, where I lived for nearly 10 years until just recently.

Which side of England? Liverpool/Manchester or Newcastle? Or midway along the Pennines? I think it makes a difference which way the weather goes. I'm sure the closer you get to Scotland, the colder it would be.

We have been having a rather stormy time, the sort which passes overhead & during which it is a good idea to turn off electronic equipment. It follows a tornado which wrecked homes near Bathurst, NSW at Meadow Flat & Clear Creek. We've had tornados before. One some time ago damaged the desalination plant at Kurnell whilst a severe storm about that time damaged a Bathurst cinema where they were playing Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in 2011. This is supposed to be Oz where we don't get all that many really large tornados. Most are smaller, &  better described as willy willy tornados. 

I hope in Kansas it isn't raining ruby slippers?  

@johobbit:Our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend is coming up (October 9-11), so we're big into planning for that

Have a lovely Canadian Thanksgiving weekend! We may be celebrating the end of lockdown, so that is something to be thankful for. Spring has sprung & it is beginning to get a bit warmish. So it is about time to spring along and "get on with it", I guess. It won't be long until the Halloween monster called the taxman will be lurking around.  

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

Which side of England? Liverpool/Manchester or Newcastle? Or midway along the Pennines? I think it makes a difference which way the weather goes. I'm sure the closer you get to Scotland, the colder it would be.

Manchester — I'm southwest of the city centre, in Cheshire.

It has got noticeably colder in the last few days — I'm certainly wearing warmer clothes than I was last week, and warmer pyjamas at night, with a blanket on top of the duvet (doona to you and me, Wagga), and I've had the radiator going some evenings. We're definitely into autumn now. I wonder what it'll be like over Christmas? (I had originally been hoping, some time ago, to be able to spend Christmas with my family in Australia, but with the ongoing COVID situation, it's not going to happen this year.)

It's crisp where I'm at in the state of Oregon... we're known for constant rain.

Welcome to the Weather thread, Jasmine! What's your favorite kind of weather? Crisp autumn days, or summer or winter?

(I've only been to Oregon a couple of times, and then only in the Portland/Cannon Beach area).

Fall here has been glorious, with those crisp clear days mixed in with a few warm ones that remind us summer hasn't surrendered quite yet (which is rather unusual for us; usually we're looking at frost by now). There are some spectacular fall colors but many are muted by the ongoing drought.

I've had several opportunities to do one of my favorite things - drive out of the city, take in some fall colors along our lakes and rivers, and then end the day with a campfire and lengthy stargazing session away from the city lights. It's so nice to see the Milky Way again, and one night I even saw the ISS reflected in the lake. Very nice.

Thank you. I’m in the Eugene area. I love rain, but I don’t mind heat or cold. We have sunny days. Summer has been dried this year.