My weather is about the same as yours, Digs, and I'm just as thrilled!
It is very fall-like, but you know, there's still that scent in the wind that is missing, the one chill that comes and you know it's fall. Greatly anticipating that!
The weather has been very lovely lately - not too hot, not too cold. And it feels great not having to turn the air conditioning on. I'm just hoping for a few more days of warmth sunshine to ripen everything in the garden. After that, though, I am anticipating fall and winter! I hope this means we'll get many decent snowfalls.

43F / 6C this morning. . . . . this is brilliant for August! Lots of places here in Ohio broke the record for the low temp. If I didn't know better, the ground looks a little "frosty" (but I know it's just an illusion created by the mixture of dew and fog).

*sigh*

If only it was gonna stay like this, but we're going to be back up in the eighties later this week.

Wow, that is mild for winter! Hoping your summer isn't tooo hot, wagga.

Yes, it has been an extraordinarily mild winter, this year. Almost like having all four seasons in the one day, with midday temperatures like spring/summer, and autumn/winter only in the evening and at 5.00 to 6.00 am in the morning -no heaters either when getting out of a nice warm bed. However, we have been told our winter weather is yet to come with icy conditions predicted for next week.

We're in the 'dog days' of summer but even those are cooler and drier than usual. 80F today felt uncomfortably warm. But the days are becoming noticeably shorter now as we approach my favorite time of year weather-wise: September with its crisp cool days, pleasant evenings full of stars, and fewer bugs and the promise of fall color soon to come.

I'm dreading summer, which may be every bit as horribly hot as anything I can ever remember here Down Under. We've even had the the first blow fly of the season buzzing around our back door, even if it is only August. September sounds delicious Up in the Attic, but September in Australia is sometimes nice, too.

Meanwhile, what exactly are the 'dog days'? I'm so curious about them I even asked that question in the 3 questions thread in Games and Blogs. I'd also like to know what is meant by the High days of summer. Why aren't there High days of winter?

I cannot imagine the heat you have in an Aussie summer, wagga. But I suppose our talk of snowstorms and -35C temperatures probably are a bit odd to you.

I've heard two explanations for the expression 'dog days of summer.' The first is just that August tends to be hot and humid in mid-northern latitudes, and so dogs pant a lot and lazily lie around.

The other, which I find a lot more interesting, is that the Dog Star Sirius (brightest in the night sky) is more or less in the same direction as the sun in July and August (technically, heliacal rising), and the ancient Greeks and Romans said its blazing heat was added to the sun's to make the weather hotter.

I'm not sure why it's 'high summer.' Perhaps it's because the sun is highest then?

Sounds like quite the storm you had, dear friend Wiggle!

And I thought we have had a lot of rain this summer, fantasia, but it's 'nothing' to what you and your extended family received! Glad the houses were not flooded this time, at least.

But the days are becoming noticeably shorter now as we approach my favorite time of year weather-wise: September with its crisp cool days, pleasant evenings full of stars, and fewer bugs and the promise of fall color soon to come.

Indeed. . . this weather is putting me in the mood for foggy, damp afternoons that come after crisp, cold, frosty mornings, all while the fiery trees disrobe in the howling breeze. .

It is very fall-like, but you know, there's still that scent in the wind that is missing, the one chill that comes and you know it's fall. Greatly anticipating that!

Indeed!

However, we have been told our winter weather is yet to come with icy conditions predicted for next week.

Have those icy conditions arrived yet, wagga? Take good care!

So, for a couple of weeks we had a glorious mixture of cooler temperatures—sun, rain, clouds ... very manageable! But the humidity is building in again now, with a humidex tomorrow of 37C/98.6F, which, although too sticky and hot, is still 'better' than July's brutal humidity. Thunderstorms on Thursday should break this thick air, thankfully, so we're back to seasonal temps on the weekend with clear skies (25C/77F). Noticing so much how the sun is rising later and setting earlier. To us, this has always seemed especially pronounced in August, after hours and hours of daylight in July.

Sounds like you have a variety, LOTS. Here, for the past week, we have been consistently between 95f/35C and 100F/37.8F. And only low 70Fs/21.1Cs in the morning.

Looking forward to an occasional "cooler" (below 90F/32C) day).

Our weather sounds similar to yours, jo. Last week was glorious, with temps around 70F/26C and nighttime lows around 50F/10C. But summer's not over yet! Today we're expecting mid-90s with heat index values around 100F/38C. The old AC is humming in this humidity!

The shortening days are also noticeable here. The pace is really picking up as we approach the equinox.

We are less than an inch of precipitation away from the rainiest August of all time here, and just like that, the rain is gone. But even though the toasty temps have returned, it's STILL not as hot as our normal mid-August temps. Our highs are in the low 90Fs. We're normally in the low 100Fs right now. Not complaining though! But I have started watering again.

I cannot imagine the heat you have in an Aussie summer, wagga. But I suppose our talk of snowstorms and -35C temperatures probably are a bit odd to you.

Yes, your talk of snowstorms etc does contrast dramatically with our weather conditions here at the same time of year. It isn't too bad in Sydney, itself, where midsummer heatwaves are sometimes eased by lovely cool changes brought with evening Southerly Busters. In Perth they call the same phenomenon the Fremantle Doctor.

-35C, or -25F temperatures sound more like you live in Antarctica, Patagonia, perhaps, or even Southern Chile. Even Melbourne, Canberra or Hobart are normally nowhere near as bad as that. We do get a bit of snow at Thredbo and Perisher Valley in the Australian Alps sometimes in the summer as well as winter. Also, occasionally, at the top of the Blue Mountains, at Katoomba or Blackheath, some 50 km from here. NZ gets much more snow, I believe, which is why it was such a good location for Middle Earth. But I don't know how bad it gets, since, like Tasmania, NZ is largely maritime.

I've heard two explanations for the expression 'dog days of summer.' The first is just that August tends to be hot and humid in mid-northern latitudes, and so dogs pant a lot and lazily lie around.

The other, which I find a lot more interesting, is that the Dog Star Sirius (brightest in the night sky) is more or less in the same direction as the sun in July and August (technically, heliacal rising), and the ancient Greeks and Romans said its blazing heat was added to the sun's to make the weather hotter.

I'm not sure why it's 'high summer.' Perhaps it's because the sun is highest then?

Thank you muchly for the explanations. I hope one of them also gets posted in the 3 Questions thread in Games and Blogs forum here. A lot of Northern Hemisphere terminology does get lost here, Down Under, doesn't it? Though I think we see Sirius from here, as well. We certainly see Orion, Taurus and all the other Horoscope constellations as well as the Southern Cross.

Have those icy conditions arrived yet, wagga? Take good care!

So far, we did have a couple of what I call 'deep fried ice-cream' days, but that is all. Mildly warm late mornings with sometimes an icily cold edge by early afternoon, you would say. The sort where it starts out icy but picture perfectly clear, the temperature rises to 18C, even 20C in sheltered sunny spots by lunch time, only for a cold wind to blow up about that time of day. Go out of the sun for a moment and the wind-chill factor alone is strong enough to make us dive into our cardigans, pullovers etc, if we have been rash enough to take them off. By evening it is cold enough to warrant turning heaters on. Hardly what you'd call 'icy', I'm afraid. Thank you for your good wishes, all the same.

-35C, or -25F temperatures sound more like you live in Antarctica, Patagonia, perhaps, or even Southern Chile.

Now, where's that 'LIKE' button?

(Though it's not much fun when every breath you take seems to stab your lungs with millions of tiny needles. Otherwise, it's quite invigorating.)

I hope one of them also gets posted in the 3 Questions thread in Games and Blogs forum here.

I considered doing so but figured I'd see if there were other explanations I'm not aware of.

Though I think we see Sirius from here, as well.

Indeed you do...here it's a main light of winter, so it's a summer star down there, near Orion, shining brightly around December and January. Incidentally, in early July Southern Hemisphere observers can see it both in the evening and in the morning skies.

But I digress. After such nice weather last week, today we're back to 'air you can wear' - thick, heavy, and loaded with moisture. It makes the sky rather hazy by day and night both - though TV commentators have mentioned part of that effect is due to smoke from wildfires to the west, in places such as Idaho.

It is the same way here, Dale. It's been in the mid 80's with blistering sun and sweltering humidity. Last week we had afternoon highs that never made it out of the 60's, and that was incredible. . . here's hoping that we can make a return to those ASAP.

Sharing the heat with everyone I see. Humidity was nasty yesterday with the haze very visible on the horizon. But it seemed to let up a bit late in the afternoon. I was hoping that it would be all over after this week, but now the weatherfolks are calling for more early next week.
Can't we just fire these people, and get someone different?
At least there is one plus side. I can see the dandylions easier in all the brown grass.

Let me check the calendar...yup, it really is the last part of August. But our crazy weather hasn't figured that out.

Today was a paltry 90F/32C with a dewpoint in the low 70sF. Tomorrow we may have a new record high for the date, 98F/37C. Keep in mind that our average highs now have fallen to around 77F/25C - but it won't even get that cool tonight! The next few days could well be the warmest stretch of the entire year...all at a time when the rapidly-shortening days, along with Labor Day and the reopening of the schools usually make us turn our attention to the oncoming autumn and winter.

Let me check the calendar...yup, it really is the last part of August. But our crazy weather hasn't figured that out.

Crazy weather there, Mr. gazer? Could use some here.

We have been consistently hot for 13 straight days. The average high has been 98.1F/36.7C and the average low 71F/21.7C. But all of the temperatures have been between 99.5F/37.5C and 95.7F/35.4C! Just a 4 degree range for almost 2 weeks.

Today may break that streak as our local weather site reports that "Monsoonal moisture is continuing to arrive in the region from the southeast." I hope so.

After such nice weather last week, today we're back to 'air you can wear' - thick, heavy, and loaded with moisture.

Yep, here too. Ugh. Tomorrow may be the worst day this week, with the temperature at 29C/84.2F, but the heat index reaching a sticky, thick-aired 37C/98.6F. Even though tomorrow may be the most humid, there is no sign of the temperatures dropping to more seasonable within the next week. Even nighttimes are hovering around 19C/66.2F, and very humid. Another Ugh.

Sharing the heat with everyone I see.

Thanks a lot.

Can't we just fire these people, and get someone different?

Yep, that would be a surefire way of changing this crazy weather around.

Let me check the calendar...yup, it really is the last part of August. But our crazy weather hasn't figured that out.

No kidding, something's really off kilter.

Whilst this will not be our warmest long stretch this summer (our week+ in July was when the heat index reached 45C/113F), this is most unusual for late August in southern Ontario.

Well, at least your weather has been consistent, Glimmie. And I hope you get some of that precipitation!

*hands out homemade popsicles to all who are dripping with humidity*