Our autumn has been awesome as well, fantasia. Today's high is expected to be 60F/16C, well above the average of 46F/8C. A year ago today our forecast included the season's first significant snowfall but there is nothing like that right now.

A large storm is expected to move out of the Rockies toward Lake Superior the next few days, with heavy rain expected here Wednesday (a little colder and it could easily be a foot of snow).

The TV news noted that this storm is very similar to the "gales of November" storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior 40 years ago tomorrow.

The storm passed mostly to the south of here. We got about a half an inch here of rain. The last two nights it has dropped to below freezing, with the highs in the 40's F.
This weekend may be the last chance to see temps in the 50's F.
Everyone have their snowblowers warmed up, and ready?

I've been able to go without a jacket the last few weeks but tonight I walked to my car and noticed frost on other vehicles. Shovels ready.

It is nice to hear the weather is behaving predictably and on schedule. We are supposed to have a long dry summer, due to an El Nino effect. But though it was a bit dry and hot in September and October we have had storm upon storm since the end of October. At least there aren't any bushfires so far.

We received a month's worth of rain from that storm, though it's needed since it has been dry. The past weekend was another glorious autumn one, with temperatures again way over average. This deep into November that is really amazing. No significant snow yet, and none in the immediate future.

Today is rainy again with more expected over the next few days. If all this had been snow - typical for this time of year - we'd really be buried!

The snow has finally arrived. About a half an inch came down today. Thankfully the wind keeps blowing so it has no chance of settling anywhere.

TECHNICALLY we have had our first snow. And by that, they caught it on the weather camera around 2am. But none of it stuck. We have had our first very hard freeze now, and later this week, just in time for Thanksgiving, we are supposed to have our first proper snow. Unfortunately it's supposed to be paired with freezing rain and drizzle and all that other fun stuff. Should make Thanksgiving travel interesting.

This most recent snow missed the Twin Cities, but areas south of here got respectable totals (like 17 inches/430mm in Sioux Falls and 5 inches/125mm in Albert Lea).

Temperatures this week have been more seasonal (though today was above average at 46F/8C) so our warm autumn continues. However, a Thanksgiving storm is coming and should pass just southeast of here for the big travel weekend.

Yeah I've been watching the weather for the next few days and it doesn't look pleasant at all. They're talking ice accumulation which is my least favorite weather ever. We're supposed to travel that day, so we'll see what happens.

However unpleasant the weather is, it can't be as bad as the heatwaves we have already been getting. Western Australia has had serious bushfires. Though it is dry there the bushfires never seem to affect them so much as it has done a fortnight ago. Now it is South Australia's turn, and the devastation there has also been horrifically heartbreaking. Loss of livestock, and whole fields of grain ready to be harvested have gone up in smoke. People have died, others have been injured, and not only houses have burned down but also, in one case, a whole shopping centre. I hope IloveFauns and Warrior4Jesus are okay. Both NSW & Victoria have sent aid to help fight bushfires, but it might be too late.

Over in the East, we have had hot weather also, but cooling southerly busters. At lunch time it was 38.5 degrees maximum. Meanwhile, it snowed today in Hobart. The increase in shark attacks we've had since the beginning of November is said to be another sign of an El Nino, and yes, it has arrived. What is threatening to be a very bad one.

I've seen a little news about the wildfires Down Under. Hopefully conditions will change soon and allow them to be controlled and extinguished.

Our long and pleasant autumn is probably over as we finally received the first 'real' snow of the winter this past Thursday, about 3 inches/75mm. Not much of it is left. Another big storm is coming our way over the next few days, and some areas southwest of here may hit the jackpot (over 9 inches/235mm). But the usual arctic blast that follows these storms appears to be lacking, with the forecast highs reaching 40F/4C next weekend - still above average.

First wave of the snowfall is dealt with About 4 inches.
Nice heavy "heart attack" stuff. More falling, and I will most likely be taking care of it in the morning before heading off to work.
Should I feel guilty for wanting spring to come already

Well, yes, Puddleglum. At the moment I would feel a little guilty in your place, dealing with the arrival of nice cold snow and already longing for Spring. Perhaps it would be a good idea to be careful of what is wished for. Because yesterday November 30th was the last day of Spring and we've already had some heatwaves in the last two weeks. Today is officially the first day of Summer, maximum temperature 42C here, the hottest part of Sydney. But though we are promised cooler weather for a day or two, it is still warmish. And the Summer Solstice isn't even here yet.

El Nino has arrived, and that means drought, bushfires, record high temperatures and crop and stock losses. Not only the ones we've already had in Australia, but also in Indonesia, to the north. And countries like Ethiopia will certainly pay the price of no water at all falling if this cyclical weather anomaly is as severe as has been threatened. Remember those seven good years and seven bad years? Those ones from Genesis? I hope and pray this particular session isn't as bad as that.

I feel guilt-free wishing for spring. I dislike winter very much. But our summers are not full of fires like yours wagga, and I suspect if they were, I'd have a different opinion.

Last week was quite eventful in our own right. We ended up having three solid days of rain, freezing rain, and ice... a LOT of ice. In fact, one day it was 28F/-2C and raining. Raining!! I'm not aware of any fatalities in our immediate area, but I know there were a few elsewhere in Kansas, and several more in Oklahoma and Texas.
We ended up staying an extra day with my in-laws because we didn't want to make the hour drive back home on a skating rink. We did lose power, but only for a couple hours so no complaints there. But I know of others that still don't have power and it's quite cold.
We started warming up yesterday which presented a whole new problem of very large chunks of ice falling from the trees and other high power lines/signs etc.
All that aside, I'm thankful for the rain. We needed it. And the rest of this week looks quite nice. Feeling bad for the northerners buried in snow though.

I'm also glad we don't have those incredibly hot summers like Down Under (or Kansas for that matter ). Fall is definitely my favorite time of year, though I wouldn't mind spring so much if my nose didn't react to all that tree pollen.

I saw some news coverage of the Kansas/Oklahoma ice storms. Normally that's one advantage of living this far north - it's usually snow, not ice, that falls. But there have been some notable exceptions over the years. Ugh.

The Twin Cities officially got about 4 inches/100mm of 'heart attack' snow, though here in the northern part we got more. But it's so warm (around 2C during the day) that a lot of it has already melted. Temperatures may exceed 40F/4C this weekend. Yikes! It feels like summer.

Some areas southwest of here did indeed hit the jackpot, with over 10 inches/255mm falling on top of the pile they got the previous week. But El Nino is melting their snow too.