That sounds lovely, @jo!

Here, there isn't even enough snow to cover the ground, but yesterday offered a vivid reminder of the season. Cold northwest winds howled all day, gusting to 55mph (88 km/hr). The temperature dropped from 36F/2C in the morning to 9F/-13C by afternoon, with wind chills around -15F/-26C. Those temperatures are not that unusual here in December but are a bit of a shock after the warm autumn we had.

The sky is a bright blue right now and I am looking forward to seeing some stars tonight.

Posted by: @stargazer

The sky is a bright blue right now and I am looking forward to seeing some stars tonight.

It has been quite awhile since we have had a clear night sky here, so when that occurs again, I am going to have to get used to the shift in the placements of the stars, constellations, planets. I think January is our cloudiest month, but December can be a close second!

Wow, that is cold, stargazer! We have not yet hit those frigid temperatures, although as I will explain, tonight's wind chill is getting close.

We are receiving more snow today than yesterday. Yesterday’s fall was a few inches, which covered everything beautifully. But today’s is more, and the beautiful white stuff is coming down in closer squalls today, and heavier. Beautiful!

I had to be in town early this morning, and drove out in heavy snowfall along the country roads. Thankfully, there were hardly any other cars, and as I reached the edge of town (only five minutes away), the traffic increased a bit, but nobody was being an idiot driver. I quite enjoy driving in the snow, as long as everyone has respect and with care. Some major roads, a bit west of us, have been closed because of almost nil visibility in the squalls.

The snow continues through today, tonight, and into tomorrow , but tomorrow will more probably be flurries rather than the heavier snow.

Daytime temps remain a few degrees below freezing, with nighttimes dropping to around -10C / 14F; windchills will be nearer -20C / -4F.

Sadly, Monday and Tuesday, the temperature rises to 5C / 41F, when we may get some rain. Nooooo! I love rain, but better in the spring, summer, and autumn, not so much in the winter months.   Wednesday we drop down to seasonal temps again, hopefully bringing with this anticipated change more snow!

24 hours have passed, so ...

We had more snow today. It just keeps coming!   Early this morning, when I went into town to swim, it was coming down heavily. This was about 40 minutes before sunrise. The countryside scenes were magical everywhere I looked!

Apparently, our area and the area just to the west of us has only had one day of school this week because of all the snow and slippery, snow-covered conditions on the roads.

More snow expected tomorrow! What else is new?  

EDIT on Saturday, Dec. 7: Yes, more snow today, albeit lighter than the past few days. Still, very pretty and wintry.

I love these shorter winter days. We turn on the outdoor and indoor Christmas mini lights (some white, but mostly coloured) around 4:30 pm, which stay on for hours. Then, in the morning, before my walk at 6 am, the lights go on again, as the sunrise is not until nearly 7:45 am. And when it is clear (not often this time of year in our part of the world), there is wonderful stargazing at either end of the day! ♥

Your snow sounds lovely, @jo!

Our weather has been up and down - some light snow earlier this month, followed by a near-record high yesterday of 52F/11C.  On Wednesday we had high winds all day, gusting to 55 mph/ 88 km/hr.

Earlier I mentioned looking forward to seeing some stars that night. But it clouded up before the sky got dark - consistent with how cloudy this time of year often is.

I also like the long nights this time of year - being able to stargaze before dinner, or even after 6 am, is awesome. Especially if it isn't 40 below. 😉

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Eighteen hours ago the ground was bare. But an Alberta Clipper roared through here overnight, dropping a quick 6 inches/150mm of powder snow by morning (some areas near here received nearly double that).

A white Christmas is likely, but still not guaranteed, as it's expected to warm up again (to just above freezing) by Monday.

In an unusually clear winter sky tonight in north east England, I tried to recognise stars and constellations I didn't know. Someone pointed out the Great Bear and Little Bear. It is interesting to look at the stars here, when I am more used to the Southern Hemisphere ones.
Fresh clear air seems full of promise, when it is usually cloudy or overcast. Perhaps this is a Christmas blessing.

Posted by: @stargazer

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Here too! We had some lovely snow falling this morning, and then flurries off and on through this afternoon. A few inches in total, but all is pristine white and beautiful and magical with the Christmas lights twinkling around the village. There is a good possibility that we shall have a white Christmas (hurrah!), but as with your area, stargazer, temps warm up just a teeny bit on Tuesday, so there might be a mixture of snow and rain. Here's sure hoping for the former!

This weekend is very cold with flurries tomorrow; cold sunshine on Sunday. Thankfully, 'though cold, the weather looks dry for traveling for our kids all arriving on Sunday evening and early in the week.  

There should be a good opportunity to see the night sky clear early Sunday morning and Sunday evening. This December has been typically cloudy, and to have a glimpse of the stars and planets now and then is lovely too. (Btw, I love cloudy days, but days is the operative word; I would rather have at least some nights clear and crisp to stargazer.) It's nice you had a chance of looking at the beautiful night sky, coracle!  

I just bought my 2025 calendar, and the Antarctica picture for January is lovely, with four or five Adelie penguins peering down from a huge block of ice. How suitable for a hot day is that?

Unfortunately, hot weather can bring more than barely bearable heat, when it can bring bushfires as well. This information for the Grampians in Victoria was posted to Internet, and I included this rather frightening picture as well. 

A fast-growing fire in Victoria's Grampians National Park razed 28,000 hectares by Saturday morning despite firefighters' best efforts to battle the blaze overnight. Residents in the nearby towns of Bellfield, Bellfield Settlement, Flat Rock Crossing, Fyans Creek, Grampians Junction and Halls Gap have all been told to evacuate immediately.

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

Unfortunately, hot weather can bring more than barely bearable heat, when it can bring bushfires as well. This information for the Grampians in Victoria was posted to Internet, and I included this rather frightening picture as well. 

A fast-growing fire in Victoria's Grampians National Park razed 28,000 hectares by Saturday morning despite firefighters' best efforts to battle the blaze overnight. Residents in the nearby towns of Bellfield, Bellfield Settlement, Flat Rock Crossing, Fyans Creek, Grampians Junction and Halls Gap have all been told to evacuate immediately.

 

Yes, it was quite a hot one here yesterday - nearly 40 degrees Celsius and will be similar temperatures on Christmas day and Boxing day.  Actually last night, I went with my family to the Christmas parade which the town that I live in runs annually, and then afterwards a concert in the town market square - the air was very smokey probably partially due to the fires in the Grampians, but also due to a fire which was burning in the bush in near a town about a half hour drive north of where I live as well. 

Sadly there are obviously several evacuation orders in place around the Grampians at the moment as well.  Please keep the people of that area in your thoughts and prayers.

Just wanted to pop in to say I am so sorry and saddened to hear about those terrible bushfires, @waggawerewolf27 and @pete. That photo is terribly ominous, Wagga. I hope everyone stays safe, including the many firefighters bravely going toward the blazes! May God send abundant rain, and the heat ease up.

@Pete: Sadly there are obviously several evacuation orders in place around the Grampians at the moment as well.  Please keep the people of that area in your thoughts and prayers.

Will do. I still remember the 2009 bushfires in Victoria, not to mention those horrendous bushfires from Queensland right down to Mallacoota, and further on to Kangaroo Island.

All the same, Merry Christmas to all, whichever hemisphere of the World, anyone lives in. 

Posted by: @jo

Thankfully, 'though cold, the weather looks dry for traveling for our kids all arriving on Sunday evening and early in the week.  

Wellll, this has changed! Light flurries all day today, then sn♥w beginning around suppertime tonight, lasting most of the night. It is going to be a white Christmas here, for certain! Even the slight risk of rain has disappeared from Tuesday's forecast, and changed to very cloudy with potential flurries, while hovering around the freezing mark. Christmas Day is overcast at -1C / 30.2F , feeling colder with the windchill. It sure will be fun tromping around our Old Silo walking route in the snow with everyone, including one very active and vibrant toddler.  

As for traveling, since the snow is ending by dawn tomorrow morning the plows and sanders should be out well before our our youngest son is driving up tomorrow morning. As long as his winter tires are on (which they are), that is the main thing.

Merry, happy, and Blessèd Christmas to all!  

We had a white Christmas yesterday, unlike last year which saw a record high of 53F/11C.

But daytime temps are just above freezing, and significant rain may fall tomorrow and the next day, taking care of any snow that remains. By January 1 temps will be closer to normal (daytime highs around 25F/-4C) still much warmer than it could be this time of year.

The cloudiness may continue into the next year; after a couple weeks of clouds it'll be fun to see the seasonal shift in the stars and moon.

It is terrific to see how great people's Christmases have been, including snow to decorate festivities. But this year, of all years, we've had a couple of commemorations to observe, one of them a very grim Worldwide remembrance of a great tragedy. Firstly, on Christmas Day this year, it was the 50th anniversary of the 1974 day when Cyclone Tracy demolished Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. The city had to be rebuilt, and the death toll was also bad for such a town. It was the worst thing to happen since the 19th of February 1942 bombing of Darwin by the then Japanese Imperial Forces. 

Secondly, yesterday, 26th of December 2024, St Stephen the Martyr's festival, was the 20th anniversary of the Boxing Day Tsunami in the Indian Ocean, in which 275,000 people died. On the day, in 2004, the 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, caused The Earth, itself, to wobble on its axis, quickening its rotation & shortening its days by 2.68 microseconds. The Sydney Morning Herald today (p.20) stated that the North Pole jolted off kilter by the length of a paper clip, whilst the Indo-Australian tectonic plate lurched 15 metres into the Burmese microplate, with something like the force of 23,000 Hiroshima bombs. The accompanying tsunami with 30 metre waves, slammed into Sumatra, especially near Aceh, but also along the Thai coast, affecting not only Sri Lanka but also Africa countries across the Indian Ocean. Even the Western Australian coastline was affected, but not nearly as severely as other parts of the world, especially as W.A.'s coastline defines a large desert. However, tides around the country were erratic for a while. Now we have a tsunami alarm system for the Indian Ocean as well as for the Pacific. 

It is hard to believe that the Boxing Day Earthquake was the 3rd most powerful earthquake ever recorded. In 1960, when I was 12, the most severe earthquake was at Valdivia in Chile, measuring 9.5 magnitude. Earthquakes measuring more than 9.0 are not very frequent, fortunately. I remember watching a particularly violent surf that year. It was like the Earth was convulsed. 

I will never forget that horrific day, @waggawerewolf27. Thank you for the detailed information. My cousin's daughter (early teens at the time) was caught in that tsunami (the family was vacationing in Taiwan) and she was not found for nearly a week ... but then she was!!! What rejoicing, as they thought she had perished.

Back to homeground, we had a white Christmas all last week. It was so beautiful and fun! We built, with a very active toddler Claire, a huge snowman in our front yard, complete with top hat. He was a bit taller than any of our 'boys' (one is 6'4"; the other 6'1"). Mr. Snowman was two-faced (in a good way ), as we placed eyes, nose, and mouth on both sides, so he could be distinguished both from the road and from inside our house. https://photos.app.goo.gl/8AvT9rmSiyfEYpyy7

Sadly, yesterday the temperature began rising to the point of rain. Gone are the years when we had snow straight from late November through much of March. Today is reaching a high of 11C / 51.8F! Verrrry unusual for us this time of year. Cooler weather is thankfully returning tomorrow through Wednesday, then colder weather (in the low negatives Celsius, with flurries) begins on Thursday, hurrah!

When I went on my walk this morning, the sky was misting rain, and then the fog descended. I arrived home before the heavier rain began, which is to continue most of today. Our wonderful, friendly snowman will then be a thing of the past. But we are so grateful we had that snow last week when the kiddos were all here. As were they.  

Our outdoor (and indoor) Christmas lights looked so pretty, reflecting on the snowy grounds. We will keep them up until early-mid January. As for our Christmas tree (a Frasier fir), it is still drinking water, albeit much slower than the first couple of weeks. We leave it up as long as we can, probably another couple of weeks. Various groups of company are coming over during this time, so we want them to enjoy the beauty too. Why take everything down right after the 25th?