Still very cloudy though not as wet as it has been. It is early summer and the maximum temperatures are about 24C. Quite pleasant & cool, & rather chilly at nightfall.

Winter has decided to make a guest appearance ("guest" since it's forecast to reach 50F/10C again next week). The southern half of Minnesota, along with points south and west, may receive anywhere from 4-14 inches (100-360mm) of snow by the time this wraps up overnight. The metro area is on the north side of the storm track, expecting 4-8 inches (100-200mm). The state has traffic and snowplow cameras that let us keep an eye on the storm's progress.

I hope all of my NWeb friends are okay after that potentially record-setting and deadly tornado tore through several states last night. Having a tornado show up in December is bizarre to me.

Almost the entire Midwest is looking at setting new heat records this week. I think on Wed we're supposed to hit the mid 70Fs/22C. Normally this time of year we're in the 30Fs-40Fs. 

And where I live we are desperately in need of some kind of precipitation. 

@fantasia: Almost the entire Midwest is looking at setting new heat records this week. I think on Wed we're supposed to hit the mid 70Fs/22C

??? That is about what we are getting in these Southern Hemisphere climes, where it is supposed to be the Summer Solstice next week or so. Not that I am complaining, when there has been plenty of rain, never-ending successions of thunderstorms, which also have caused some damage, not only to crops,  plus rather chilly nights for this time of year.

Nothing to your tornadoes, which we heard about on this morning's news. How dreadful! My most sincere sympathies to those affected.  

Meanwhile, did I hear that it snowed on Hawaii? Of all places in the world?

wagga, it did indeed snow in Hawaii, but locals and meteorologists have been quick to point out that social media has exaggerated its rarity. There are several peaks over 14,000 feet (4250m) tall, and that's where the snow falls, generally every winter. There was flooding closer to sea level, but there wasn't snow there.

A local TV meteorologist has called tomorrow (Dec 15) a "kitchen sink" forecast, since it will include almost everything: there's a high wind warning (over 60 mph/95 km/hr), warmth that will shatter records for the day (close to 60F/16C), heavy rains with possible flooding and thunderstorms, not to mention fog in the evening as the winds shift to the northwest, causing flash-freezing on the ground along with some snowfall. Oh, and there's a very small chance of a tornado due to the energy in this storm. It would be the first tornado on record in December in Minnesota.

We are officially in the midst of a winter heat wave. We're looking at record highs on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this week (70Fs/20Cs).

I told my mod friends that winter is quarantining due to Covid apparently. 

It's been snowing in Elmira, Oregon. The roads were pretty bad, we stayed home from church this morning. Our pastor actually encouraged us to stay home.

Seattle also got a lot of snow when I was there over Christmas, and some record low temperatures were set (around 17F/-7C).

I've returned to Minnesota just in time for some winter chill. The forecast high January 1 is -2F/-18C, with the low that evening around -20F/-29C - and that's before the wind chill.

Trivia note: the NHL's Winter Classic outdoor game is that day, at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. It is expected to be the coldest NHL game on record. Brrr!

Here in the Southern Hemisphere it's the first month of summer, and we've had quite a bit of rain so far! It makes the garden grow, the weeds and lawns included. I'm waiting for the rain to finish today so I can continue to pick blackcurrants, which I'll mostly freeze for later jam making.
It hasn't been beach weather very often yet, and going to the beach seems to have fallen off my list of activities for summer anyway!

I hope that the high winds we had last year won't dominate this year, because it's no fun sitting outdoors being blown about, unable to wear a wide brimmed hat in the sun (or have a sun umbrella up over a chair) During January I want to do quite a bit of sitting outdoors under an umbrella, enjoying the warm weather! - then retreating indoors to cool off.

After a record-setting warm December here in my area (and much of the midwest USA), we say hello to January with an absolutely blasting winter storm. In the past three hours the temps have dropped from 60F/15C to 38F/3C, and they're going to continue falling through tomorrow where it's supposed to bottom out at about 4F/-15C. Lots of ice expected and we may even get some snow! I don't plan to go anywhere tomorrow. Just bundle up and keep warm!  

December was quite mild for us, relatively. We did have some snow, which would then melt within a few days. More snow would fall, which would again disappear as temps rose a bit above 0°C / 32°F for even one day. Disappointing, to be honest.

At the beginning of this New Year, we have had very cold temperatures, with one day (yesterday) rising above 0C and starting to melt the beautiful snow we have. However, the landscapes are still all white, and with the cold front coming through this afternoon, we, thankfully, have not lost nearly all of the snow.

The forecast is for below freezing for the foreseeable future, except for this Thursday, which may briefly pop barely above 0C. There is a chance of flurries, and possibly accumulating snow, most days this week.  

December was also warm here, generally, though I spent a third of it in a slightly-warmer location. The bottom dropped out (temperature-wise) New Year's Eve, with lows around -15F/-26C and highs barely reaching 0F/-17C. Then it rose to above freezing yesterday before another storm brought in snow and blizzard conditions (away from the city) last night and this morning. It will get cold again (though not remarkably so for January) the next few days, with more days not getting above 0F/-17C.

Incidentally, the earth was at perihelion (closest to the sun for the year) early on January 4.

That is cold, stargazer! This morning on my pre-dawn/early dawn walk it was nudging -20C / -4F, but with hardly a windchill, so great for a long, brisk walk! All was quiet and hushed. Really lovely! And any moistness is long gone from the air now, so it's a beautiful fresh cold, rather than a moist, raw, bone-chilling cold, which occurs around the freezing mark in the winter.

Tomorrow we are hitting that freezing mark briefly, before more arctic air descends, again with flurries (or more) much of next week.

The night sky is so amazing in these well below freezing temperatures—the stars and planets are utterly clear, and sparkling. One rarely gets this crisp kind of view in the summer (where we are), with its nasssty humidity and thick air.

  Oh my, it's really cold in your countries! Here in Brazil we are on Summer (once we are in the Southern Hemisphere), and because my country is close to the Equator (actually it passes through some of the upper states), we're used to hot temperatures. Right now the afternoon is ending and it's reaching 28ºC/83ºF in my city, but through the day it reached 32ºC/89ºF. I myself prefer the winter, but it's a perfect time of the year to go to the beach 😊 

  Fun fact: "heat" in Spanish and Portuguese (which is the language we speak here in Brazil) is "calor", just like the "Calormen" Lewis used in Narnia!

Posted by: @calormenwarrior

  Fun fact: "heat" in Spanish and Portuguese (which is the language we speak here in Brazil) is "calor", just like the "Calormen" Lewis used in Narnia!

I actually knew about that. I am not the best at Spanish or Portuguese but I do have close friends who are Hispanic and an aunt who is of Mexican descent, so I understand the language pretty much.

Also, in the Russian translation of Narnia, Calormen is refered to as "Tarkhinstan", mostly likely in refrence to "Tarkaan".

We had pretty cold weather in the State of Oregon. It was foggy on the way to church yesterday and on the way home as well.