Summer in south-eastern Australia wasn't as hot these last few weeks as it can be — surprisingly mild at times — but it seems to have got hot again just after I left. My sister reported earlier today that she has her air conditioning on because it was 30.5 C indoors when she got home, and there's a massive grass fire in central Victoria that is turning the sun red and blowing ash in her direction, even about 60 km away (she's on the north-western outskirts of Melbourne).

Meanwhile, I'm back in an English winter and it's cold (though not absolutely freezing) and rainy!! But there are little green shoots on some of the trees already and the ornamental blossoming tree outside my block of flats (I think it's something in the almond / plum family!) is in full flower, very early for this time of year.

Ouch! Bushfires are bad, and it could be worse in the north-west of Melbourne, further inland. But never mind, they tend to stop after the end of Summer next Saturday. I don't know how Melbourne is faring now that Taylor Swift has left town. The heat we have been feeling up north, usually before 4.00 pm, usually descends into some really spectacular thunderstorms, one of which last night left her ERAS tour in chaos in Sydney, but it looks as if it went off well, anyway. 

It seems that the El Niño we were expecting did not result in the super-hot & dry conditions we were fearing just yet. Due to the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), which circles around the Antarctic Ocean, and also the IOD (Indian Ocean Diode). Unfortunately, Western Australia, & specifically Perth, is getting the outrageous hot temperatures at over 40C that I am glad that we missed this past summer. Do enjoy the English Spring.  

Where I live there's been a bit of haze or gloom, which is somewhat out of character for the environment of this area. I was able to see cumulus clouds for the first time in a while, which was very nice. There were also more birds out, probably to greet the nicer weather.

How is the weather in England? It is a 7-9 for USDA growing zones, but I've always understood England to be rather cold and gloomy. Does it not snow often there?

Posted by: @azog-the-defiler

How is the weather in England? It is a 7-9 for USDA growing zones, but I've always understood England to be rather cold and gloomy. Does it not snow often there?

The weather in England is... well, variable is the best word for it. No, it doesn't snow often here (Scotland gets more of that, being further north with much higher mountains), and yes, the stereotype is that it's cold and it rains a lot. It does rain a lot, which is why the place is so green. I remember within the first year or so that I lived here, there was an advert on the side of some of the London buses (yes, London really is full of big red double-decker buses, just like in all the pictures), saying something like "After 2 months of very low rainfall WE ARE IN DROUGHT. Please save water." As an expat from the driest inhabited continent on Earth (Australia*), where water restrictions are a permanent fact of life in most places, I was just about falling over laughing at that one...   (And it wasn't much longer before the rainfall went back to normal.)

But seriously, the weather here is so changeable — not utterly unpredictable, but highly variable — that layering one's clothes is a good idea, so that you can take some off or put more on as the day continues. I've just looked out the window and the sky is now pale blue with a few fluffy clouds, whereas it was totally grey and overcast about an hour ago. Earlier this morning it was also overcast, but as I parked my car at the supermarket, there was a sudden burst of brilliant sunshine that hit me straight in the unsuspecting eyes. And yet when I got out of the car there was a north wind blowing that made it feel a lot colder than it was according to my car's outside temperature gauge (7 degrees C, but it felt nearly freezing in that wind). We can easily have the proverbial four seasons in one day here. And it can get surprisingly hot and humid in summer!

I like it a lot, because the weather where I grew up, near Melbourne (south-eastern Australia), is also famously changeable — my dad's saying is "If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes!" It's colder overall in the UK, but the capricious weather just feels so familiar that it makes me feel more at home. And it is true that if the weather isn't to your liking, there is a good chance it'll change before the end of the day!

On the other hand, about 20 years ago I was living in Brisbane (sub-tropical Australia, about halfway up the east coast), and the weather there was so unexciting by comparison. If it was going to be sunny, it was sunny all week; if it was going to rain, it rained all week. Boring.  

* Technically Antarctica is drier, as it has almost no rainfall, but nobody actually lives there full time, apart from penguins of course.

 

     Posted by: @courtenay

     ...my dad's saying is "If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes!"

My dad liked to say that too! We can go from heating to air conditioning in the same day, then back again.  😉 

This week is an example: today will be warm, with near-record highs expected (around 64F/18C). A storm brings wind, cold, and snow, and by tomorrow night it may be as cold as 7F/-14C (average temps for January). But by the weekend we may reach 70F/21C, with summer-like thunderstorms.

@courtenay That's extensive and detailed enough to go in a National Geographic article. Bravo. It sounds a bit like where I live in the southeastern US. There was an old saying during the Colonial period that the spring is like Heaven, the summer is like [insert place that's not Heaven here], and the fall was like a hospital. There are times when it goes from being rainy to sunny in 15 or 20 minutes.

I'm curious if the weather is ever blamed for grumpiness there. In the northern US, the population seems less chipper than in the south, and I suspect that it has to do with the lack of vitamin D.

There are periods of drought here, but that usually just means that everyone has to water their lawn more often. I don't know if we normally get water restrictions though. What exactly would a water restriction be there? Would the population be kept from drinking and showering, or would it just mean that people wouldn't be able to water their lawns as much?

Posted by: @azog-the-defiler

I'm curious if the weather is ever blamed for grumpiness there. In the northern US, the population seems less chipper than in the south, and I suspect that it has to do with the lack of vitamin D.

I don't know, really, and I don't want to go into stereotypes. Britain as a whole is far too small a country compared to the US, or Australia for that matter, for there to be a huge difference in climate and weather across the entire country. Obviously Scotland is colder on average than southern England, but it's normally only a matter of a few degrees, not the kind of disparity you see between, say, Michigan and Florida.

There are periods of drought here, but that usually just means that everyone has to water their lawn more often. I don't know if we normally get water restrictions though. What exactly would a water restriction be there? Would the population be kept from drinking and showering, or would it just mean that people wouldn't be able to water their lawns as much?

Depends on whether you're talking about the UK or Australia! There haven't been any actual water restrictions in the UK over the 12 years I've lived here, as far as I can remember. Where I grew up in Australia, we have had water restrictions at times, mainly to do with the days and times when you're allowed to water the garden. I do know it's a legal requirement for all new houses, or newly renovated ones, to have dual flush toilets and water saving shower heads in the bathroom. But I don't recall there ever being such severe measures that we were restricted from showering — just advised to take shorter showers! That said, we have wetter weather in the Melbourne area than some other parts of Australia do, and I don't know if there have been stricter rules in parts of the country that get far less rainfall.

Posted by: @courtenay

I don't know, really, and I don't want to go into stereotypes. Britain as a whole is far too small a country compared to the US, or Australia for that matter, for there to be a huge difference in climate and weather across the entire country.

I see. I greatly appreciated the sun when I lived there, and it would brighten my day, so to speak[excuse the pun]. How would that be compared to Normandy or other parts of France?

So it was more of a recommendation than a mandate. Those are interesting rules. At least it probably saves on the water bill. Do people ever collect rainwater and filter it, or use any other creative means of obtaining water? 

Posted by: @azog-the-defiler

I see. I greatly appreciated the sun when I lived there, and it would brighten my day, so to speak[excuse the pun]. How would that be compared to Normandy or other parts of France?

I wouldn't know, honestly. I've never lived in France and have only been there once, for four days in Paris with my mum and dad. 

So it was more of a recommendation than a mandate. Those are interesting rules. At least it probably saves on the water bill. Do people ever collect rainwater and filter it, or use any other creative means of obtaining water? 

Yes, on farms and in rural areas in general it's common to have rainwater tanks. There are artesian wells in some inland parts of Australia (not where I come from), and some coastal areas have desalination plants to turn sea water into fresh water. Some people also install "greywater" systems to filter and recycle the used water from their laundry and/or shower — it's not made clean enough for drinking or cooking, but can be used to water the garden. 

@Azog the Defiler: There are periods of drought here, but that usually just means that everyone has to water their lawn more often. I don't know if we normally get water restrictions though. What exactly would a water restriction be there? Would the population be kept from drinking and showering, or would it just mean that people wouldn't be able to water their lawns as much?

I am curious to know what part of South - East USA do you come from? From what I have read and learned from the news, the south-east corner of USA, on the Caribbean coast, seems to have rather too much rain what with all those hurricanes we hear about. Not unlike the cyclones that battered Queensland this summer & the monsoon in North of Australia. On the other hand, the further west from the Caribbean coast one goes, it seems the place is desert or semi-desert country, just like in New South Wales, in the West and North-West corner, the closer one gets to Central Australia, South-West Queensland & the NSW/South Australian border. 

You mention water restrictions, but the State of Victoria, where Courtenay used to live, is mostly out of that main desert belt. Further north, the climate is usually more erratic. Therefore, these water restrictions can be more drastic even in Sydney, like it was in the 2019 spring and summer, when the dams seemed to get more and more empty, as low as 40% or not much higher, & when even our biggest dam was as low as 32.5% in another drought in 2006. In rural districts, they sometimes have to truck in tanks of water for the residents. Our current water restrictions are fine, but they went down to the 2nd or 3rd level in 2019, in Sydney, whilst these restrictions could be down as low as 4 and 5 in places like Toowoomba, in 2019 in Southern Queensland, where their local dam was empty.

Water restrictions could mean 3-minute showers & on alternate days - they gave us these useless little hourglasses to measure how long we took, but they won't stick on the wall - not using hoses or sprinklers at all, only watering cans, no watering the garden between 10 AM and 4 PM, or saving washing up or laundry rinsing water to put on the garden, when finished. 

I can't tell you what water restrictions they have in UK, though they were worrying about a drought when I went there in 1997. Whilst I was there, the weather was mostly cloudy and rained heavily, there, with the bleakest day at the end of June, when we went to Stonehenge, so I wondered what they were fussing about. 

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

You mention water restrictions, but the State of Victoria, where Courtenay used to live, is mostly out of that main desert belt. Further north, the climate is usually more erratic. Therefore, these water restrictions can be more drastic even in Sydney, like it was in the 2019 spring and summer, when the dams seemed to get more and more empty, as low as 40% or not much higher, & when even our biggest dam was as low as 32.5% in another drought in 2006. In rural districts, they sometimes have to truck in tanks of water for the residents. Our current water restrictions are fine, but they went down to the 2nd or 3rd level in 2019, in Sydney, whilst these restrictions could be down as low as 4 and 5 in places like Toowoomba, in 2019 in Southern Queensland, where their local dam was empty.

Water restrictions could mean 3-minute showers & on alternate days - they gave us these useless little hourglasses to measure how long we took, but they won't stick on the wall - not using hoses or sprinklers at all, only watering cans, no watering the garden between 10 AM and 4 PM, or saving washing up or laundry rinsing water to put on the garden, when finished. 

Thanks, Wagga. I was aware that we in Victoria don't have much experience of "real" water restrictions and was hoping you might be able to supply information from further north! Actually, I think some years ago, even Victoria went onto the tiered water restrictions system for a time, but that was while I was in Britain, so I don't have first-hand experience — I'm just vaguely remembering my family saying something about it. We didn't have any water restrictions when I was back with them for a couple of weeks earlier this month, but it hasn't been a very hot summer by Aussie standards, at least in the far south-east. (Yes, we DO get hot summers in Melbourne.) 

I can't tell you what water restrictions they have in UK, though they were worrying about a drought when I went there in 1997. Whilst I was there, the weather was mostly cloudy and rained heavily, there, with the bleakest day at the end of June, when we went to Stonehenge, so I wondered what they were fussing about. 

That's exactly why I was laughing when I saw the "WE ARE IN DROUGHT" ad on the London buses in 2012. There was a photo in one of the UK newspapers a few months later showing one of the same buses in pouring rain!! As Crocodile Dundee might have said, "That's not a drought, mate..."  

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

I am curious to know what part of South - East USA do you come from? From what I have read and learned from the news, the south-east corner of USA, on the Caribbean coast, seems to have rather too much rain what with all those hurricanes we hear about. Not unlike the cyclones that battered Queensland this summer & the monsoon in North of Australia.

I'm closer to Virginia than the Caribbean. We do get a lot of hurricanes, but there are also dry periods. I haven't been to Australia, but considering that we're subtropical, I wouldn't be surprised if our weather was similar to certain areas over there.

You're probably right about the weather getting dry the farther west one goes. The humidity levels here gets around 80% quite frequently. One of my friends from California said that the humidity is much lower there.

The water restrictions that you described sound quite inconvenient.

Meanwhile in New Zealand, its the end of summer, and it rained during the night for perhaps the 3rd time in a month. Our lawns are very brown, but the grass will recover.

One of my jobs for the day is delivering some flyers to letterboxes (mailboxes) on foot. I'll have to take my umbrella!!

@coracle: One of my jobs for the day is delivering some flyers to letterboxes (mailboxes) on foot. I'll have to take my umbrella!!

I've done such work regularly in the past, myself.  When delivering pamphlets, to leave both hands free to do the job, you'd be better off with one of those clear plastic hooded mackintoshes or capes that looked like they were worn universally by the audience to the Taylor Swift Eras performance in Sydney last Friday. At least, rainy weather will be pleasantly cool at this time of the year for you, when in hot, dry weather such work can be horrible if not well prepared for it, beforehand. 

@Courtenay: Actually, I think some years ago, even Victoria went onto the tiered water restrictions system for a time, I'm just vaguely remembering my family saying something about it.

That might well have been in 2019, in the lead up to the Black Summer bushfires, which affected the whole of Eastern Australia, including Victoria as well, except for the usual, but a bit late monsoon, & cyclones in North Queensland & Northern Territory. Inverloch can't be too far from Mallacoota, which was also affected by bushfires, then. Yes, you do get hot summers in Melbourne, even the worst dust storm I've ever heard about, blanketing that city & when there were lots of them, in 2009, when Victoria, also, suffered horrible bushfires.  

@Courtenay: As Crocodile Dundee might have said, "That'snot a drought, mate..."

@Azog the Defiler: but considering that we're subtropical, I wouldn't be surprised if our weather was similar to certain areas over there...

The water restrictions that you described sound quite inconvenient.

 You are right, when Sydney is at 33.86 degrees latitude south of the Equator, and when the Tropic of Capricorn passes through Rockhampton in Queensland, at 23.26 south. Whilst Virginia at its most southern point seems to be at 36.32 degrees north, which is more like Melbourne, at 37.48 south. Except that cyclones spin in the opposite direction to hurricanes.  

Yes, water restrictions can be inconvenient, but they are also a timely reminder to us all, not to waste water unnecessarily, even when it is in abundance. Washing a car by hand might be less wasteful if done on a lawn than on a driveway, for instance. On the other hand, washing a car is notorious for making it rain, according to Murphy's Law.  

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

Inverloch can't be too far from Mallacoota, which was also affected by bushfires, then.

Er, well, that depends on what one means by not being "too far". Inverloch is in fact 448.8 km from Mallacoota, via the Princes Highway — 5 hours and 25 minutes' drive, according to Google. (I don't know firsthand, never having been to Mallacoota myself.) We've never had a serious bushfire anywhere near Inverloch within recorded history (that is, since the 1870s), as far as I'm aware.

Seriously, I know Victoria is the smallest mainland state in Australia (and the second smallest of all after Tasmania), but it really is a bit bigger than some people assume...