First day of meteorological summer here, and it's beautiful...partly cloudy, low humidity, few bugs, and pleasant temperatures.

That's a far cry from a few days ago, when high temperatures and humidity fired a line of storms that produced multiple tornadoes and lots of straight-line wind damage, mostly north and northwest of here, in "cabin country." Lots of damage but no severe injuries or deaths reported at the moment.

Mid-June is expected to return to form - hot and humid.

Meanwhile we had a warm patch due to the NW winds here, which give a strange set of weather on the east side of our mountains (Think LOTR mountain range), and it was warm enough for an icecream cone yesterday. In New Zealand. Where it is winter now!
After the first couple of frosts a few days ago, we've got that odd weather that's warmer outside than inside - so heating on in the lounge, and that dithering choice of warm clothes and layers to wear. 
But the temperature will drop tomorrow, as the NW changes to SW, which usually brings storms and rain. Apparently there'll be the first snow of the season, but as our city is at sea level, I don't think it'll come here.

Our spectacular early-summer weather continues, with low humidity, often-clear skies, and tolerable  temperatures (even for a polar bear like me). Last night I enjoyed some time watching the Moon and the stars, and the only hindrance was the unwelcome arrival of Minnesota's "state bird," the mosquito. After very few of them last year due to the drought, they're expected to be terrible this summer.

Our nice weather is coming to an end as well, with heat and humidity returning next week. Heat indices could approach 100F (39C).

@Cleander: @waggawerewolf27, might be stating the obvious, but I love that you're having the exact opposite experience as people up here! Snow in May/June must be awesome. 

Hmm... Winter it most definitely is, with 6.00 am temperatures of 1/2 a degree C, 1 C, even -1C. Antarctic winds are throwing their weight around, somewhat, in what the Bureau of Meteorology (in Melbourne), is calling the coldest start to winter since 1989. 😰 Maximum temperatures are a bit better, when the weather is mostly dry & frosty. Up your way it sounds nice weather. Nothing too extreme, I hope.

It will be the Winter solstice in a week's time, Midsummer in the Northern Hemisphere.  

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

Hmm... Winter it most definitely is, with 6.00 am temperatures of 1/2 a degree C, 1 C, even -1C. Antarctic winds are throwing their weight around, somewhat, in what the Bureau of Meteorology (in Melbourne), is calling the coldest start to winter since 1989.

Ha, I heard from my sister back in Melbourne last week that they had a light sprinkling of snow, which is extremely rare in Melbourne!!

It seems to be a slow start to summer in the UK, although the weather here is always so variable that it's hard to tell... Put it this way, it isn't really cold any more but it's not exactly hot either. The maximum temperature has gone over 20 C a few times, which always seems to make at least some British people dress like it's the height of a scorching summer, whereas I, as an Aussie, am still in long sleeves and trousers!! It won't be dress weather for me for a while yet...

I saw some coverage of a blizzard in Tasmania yesterday. It was really reminiscent of some of our worst weather here in the Midwest! Blowing snow, no visibility - almost makes me shiver.

Almost is the operative word here. Summer has arrived. Today featured "air you can wear" in the words of a local meteorologist. It was very humid but we fell just short of the daily record high of 98F/37C. After a couple cooler days the heat will be on again this weekend, with temps around 100F and heat indices up to 110F (40-43C). Whew! Time for this polar bear to stay indoors.

We skipped summer and went straight to broil. We're already in major drought status as well as hitting 100+. This is shaping up to be a repeat of 2011 or worse. 

We rarely hit 100F and I can't imagine doing so on a regular basis. But i suppose our regular bouts with -20F are similarly hard to imagine for those in warm climates.

We reached 101F yesterday with a heat index of 108F (38C and 42C). It was the warmest day in almost 10 years. I took binoculars out to look at the sky and they promptly fogged up in the humidity.  

(Ah, but in 6 months the feels-like temperature could easily be 130F (72C) colder).

Goodness, that is warm!

During this month of June, we have had a good combination of both rain and sun, allowing the gardens and farmers' fields to thrive and flourish. The past week is the only one that tended on the dry side, but we had lovely, dark skies this morning with a good amount of refreshing rain, so ... grateful!

The corn is now way taller my knees. "Knee-high by the fourth of July" did not apply to this year.  

Except for tomorrow and Friday (July 1, Canada Day!), which will be downright hot, the upcoming days will be fairly comfortable summer temperatures, with nicely cool nights. July is our hottest, driest, most humid month, and I never look forward to it. Once we make it through July, Autumn is definitely in sight!  

@Stargazer: I saw some coverage of a blizzard in Tasmania yesterday. It was really reminiscent of some of our worst weather here in the Midwest! Blowing snow, no visibility - almost makes me shiver.

I can believe it, when Tasmania is always distinctly cooler than Mainland Australia, to the point that a relative who moved there, from Proserpine, south of Townsville, in Queensland, in the 1990's, to live in Launceston, said she contracted pneumonia, & was glad to get back to the relative warmth of northern New South Wales. Not that it can't be chllyi here in winter, every now and then, depending on what is called the Southern Oscillation, in the Pacific. Snow in Tasmania, especially in its mountainous centre, around Cradle Mountain, is not unusual. 

Whereas our flooding rains of last March have returned with a vengeance. This time, the floods are here, right here, though at least Lismore & northern NSW does not appear affected. Warragamba Dam has overflowed, the Nepean river is full to the doorsteps of people who live in riverside houses, there are blockages further downstream at Richmond & Windsor, where the water has backed up, & the bridge has been closed.  Some people, more affected, have been evacuated. And the rain is getting worse. We are okay, so far, being on a rise, well back from the river, but the outlook is not good. It is freezing cold for this area, the coldest winter it has been for years. We are told we are having a third LA NIÑA effect, after a double effect in the autumn, which is exceptional for the Sydney area.   

@waggawerewolf27 I'm very sorry to see how badly hit some parts of Sydney are.  Our online news service here says it's Western Sydney,

'This morning, there are 67 flood evacuation orders in place across New South Wales, and a further 66 evacuation warnings.'

Yes, Coracle, Western Sydney is the hardest hit, so far, but also the South Coast down to Wollongong. You may have been to these parts of the world, so you will have a fair idea how Sydney is laid out. The Nepean River, after its confluence with the Colo River, becomes the Hawkesbury, which empties into Broken Bay, to the north of Sydney. But it isn't the only river giving trouble. The Georges River, going through Liverpool, then past Como to Botany Bay, is also flooding.  It is worse because this is the fourth time in eighteen months that we have had flooding in places like Windsor & Richmond. There is also the spillage from Warragamba dam which is making the Nepean River so deadly at the moment. 

The news we are getting at the moment is concentrating on the local picture at the moment. What are the other places your own news service mentions? NSW is fairly big, but I doubt there are many inland locations mentioned. 

The flooding in Australia has made news here. I'm sorry to hear about it.

We are now officially hot. Summer has arrived. This morning the kids and I made a mini-trip to the zoo (we have a membership so we go often for short trips rather than giant big trips that lead to whining). It was cloudy and sprinkling while we were there, and it was quite warm and humid, but not unbearable. However, once the clouds moved on it was pretty horrid outside. Lots of 100F+ temps over the next few days. 

The Sydney flooding has also received some news coverage here.

Summer has settled in here, hot and humid, though nothing like what you have, fantasia. Highs in the 90s F and heat indices in the low 100s F (33-40C).

A short time ago, around dusk, the sky was the most unusual shade of yellow which slowly changed to a weird orange tint. The colors reflected off the bottoms of the mammatus clouds overhead. It was brief but constantly changing in tint.

Really sorry to hear about the Sydney flooding, wagga.   We have heard this hard news here too.

That is mighty hot, fantasia!

Posted by: @stargazer

Summer has settled in here, hot and humid, though nothing like what you have, fantasia.

Ditto here, although we are not even as hot as your area is, stargazer, and definitely not at hot at fantasia's corner of the world. Here, 'tis warm and humid (typical for July), and we had some lovely, steady rain yesterday. However, because the past week+ has been quite dry, we could use another good day of precipitation. Some of that may be coming this Thursday. After that, there looks to be quite a dry stretch ... again, normal for our July weather. I am counting the days until August. Not that we can't get hot and humid in that month, but there usually are breaks throughout August with quite pleasant, comfortable weather, foretelling Autumn. And the nights certainly are cooler, particularly after the first week.

Thankfully, aside from a couple of nights ago, our nighttime temps have been in the mid-teens Celsius (59 or 60F), which is nice for sleeping. Lower is even better, but that seldom happens in July in our area.  

Posted by: @stargazer

A short time ago, around dusk, the sky was the most unusual shade of yellow which slowly changed to a weird orange tint. The colors reflected off the bottoms of the mammatus clouds overhead. It was brief but constantly changing in tint.

This sounds so unusually beautiful, stargazer. And mammatus clouds, no less. Those are always striking!

I ventured out on a walk this morning, even though the air was quite humid, but the colouring of the air fifty minutes before sunrise (5 a.m. local) was so unique, being a reddish-pink, that I simply had to run to the Old Silo to view the open sky. So worth it (even though I was too warm ). Many altocumulus (clumpy, 'sheeps' wool clouds) were spread over the vast sky, allowing the dawn's light to reflect off them, starting from pink (50 minutes prior to sunrise) then moving to orange, then ivory. What a sight, particularly earlier on!

Here is a link to some photos I took: https://photos.app.goo.gl/N9298aGok17439CUA