We camped in north-central Minnesota this weekend, and the weather varied from quite pleasant at night to warm and humid by day (especially when hiking in the woods where the wind can't penetrate).

The sky recently has been a dull whitish color with the sun and moon both dimmed and few stars visible at night. This is apparently from wildfire smoke blowing in from central Canada. Sunsets the past few nights have been spectacular, with the sun a deep, vivid red color. Northwest winds blew up last night, pushing all that away for now. Nice to see blue skies again!

We're in need of some rain...ironic considering how much Texas and Louisiana have received.
Rain aside, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous here, especially for August! It feels like Fall, which is weird because it usually doesn't until halfway into the season.

Sounds dreadfully as if you were in Oz, not Kansas. Winter was exceedingly dry, and there hasn't been any rain at all for about a month. I've tried everything to make it rain, bar washing our car. But meanwhile there are high winds and even blizzards Down South in the Snowy Mountains. On the surface our daytime temperatures are warm but since Wattle Day (1st Sept), we get minimums of 1-5 degrees Celsius. And everytime I start thinking about putting away jumpers, cardigans etc, I find myself digging them out again.

I do feel for Texas and Louisiana, in particular. I hoped that at least the hurricane might not be as intense by the time it got there. Last time there was so much devastation was when our news covered Hurricane Katrina, which flattened New Orleans.

The weather forecast here (Manchester, England) is Rain - for at least the next five days. It's an area with a good rainfall, and this is not a surprise. I will just be remembering to take my umbrella and waterproof jacket when I go out.

The weather for the past week or so here has been glorious...highs around 65F/18C with refreshing evening lows around 50F/10C. Lots of sunshine and starlight. The low the other night was 37F/2C, just another reminder that winter is never far away here.

And with that, the possible snow season begins in 7 days.

That is just the range of temperatures we are having now down in the basement. This morning was 4C and the midday temperatures yesterday did not pass 18C. So a bit coolish for this time of year, since it is officially spring.

It seems that the North American continent is having quite a horrible autumn otherwise, with so many hurricanes around. This far south, though they still influence the weather here, we don't get the full force of cyclones, anywhere near as often as they do further north in Queensland, Northern Territory and the north part of Western Australia. Cyclones are hurricanes that spin in the opposite direction to hurricanes I believe.

Just as I posted the above comments on temperatures, summer decided it wasn't over yet despite the approaching equinox. Heat and humidity have returned, though not in full-summer mode. Tomorrow's predicted high is 88F/31C, significantly above the average though not quite a record.

Just as above, summer didn't get the memo that the September (autumnal) equinox is tomorrow, with highs approaching record territory today and tomorrow, with a lot of humidity. Today's high was 92F (33C) with a heat index of 96F (36C), and tomorrow may be warmer.

The trees are changing colors and snow can't be far away...or so the rumors say.

It's hot here too, but we are at the top of the temperature roller coaster and over the next few days we're going to go downhill rapidly. Storms are in the forecast for Sunday and next week the highs are supposed to be in the 70Fs.

Happy Fall/Autumn!
Or Spring as the case may be.

Thank you, Fantasia Kitty for your kind wishes . It is supposed to be the Spring Equinox but despite coolish night temperatures, we are facing the sort of summer conditions that made last summer rather a hellish experience with temperatures climbing to 36C or above. Very close to the 40C mark. There has been much pollen in the air, there has already been bushfires due to nearly two months of totally dry weather, and will a flu epidemic going around plus hayfever, yes we can do with some good wishes.

I don't understand weather reporting sometimes. They go by the maximums but when overnight temperatures can sink to as low as 10 degrees or lower and maximums climb to as much as 30 degrees higher than the minimums, it can be quite uncomfortable weather.

Hope it's a little more comfortable for you, wagga. Just the thoughts of those temperatures (and the pollen) make me uncomfortable.

After the previous week's heat, last week was awesome early autumn weather, cool, clear and crisp. Rain moved in yesterday and as I type this it's really coming down, with some spectacular lightning and thunder as a sideshow. (The past few months have been dry so we need the rain, but it's coming down so fast much of it might just wash away).

Just a few weeks after summer heat, we have frost advisories for tonight over much of Minnesota. The local growing season might not end quite yet thanks to the urban heat island effect.

The trees started changing colors early this year, but while some have burst into vibrant reds and oranges, many seem to have put the change on hold. There is still lots of green to be seen out there.

Just a few weeks after summer heat, we have frost advisories for tonight over much of Minnesota. The local growing season might not end quite yet thanks to the urban heat island effect.

The trees started changing colors early this year, but while some have burst into vibrant reds and oranges, many seem to have put the change on hold. There is still lots of green to be seen out there.

Every year I think I'm ready for winter, and every year a big cold front comes through, I step outside and go "Never mind! Not ready."
Seriously though, as much as I'm not looking forward to the cold, we need a good, hard winter. The insects and arachnids this year have just been terrible.

Meanwhile, those Asian beetles and box elder bugs are all over around here.

This week should be awesome fall weather, highs around 70F/21C with crystal clear blue skies. I celebrated today by driving up part of the St Croix River valley, ending with a campfire and stargazing session at a state park near Stillwater. Fun times.

Highs by Friday could be 20F/11C over average.

And Down Under, after little or no rain since last July, believe it or not, it is finally raining. However, though there have been one or two warmish days, the weather has been treating us well, otherwise. Cool and bracing in the morning and daytime temperatures have been quite bearably in a range from 20C to 28C. Except for yesterday, which was 31C maximum. We could really do with the rain, so I can't and won't grizzle about it.