I'm glad to hear you both have had some relief to your respective dry weather/drought, wagga and stargazer. Yes, wagga, the Canadian wildfires are terrible - the worst they have ever been, apparently. My brother watches for fires from a high fire tower in northern Alberta during the summer months, and he cannot remember a season this severe.

I didn't know whether to put this here or in the gardening topic, but decided here. I have been keeping an eye on our lovely sedum/stonecrop plants over the past week or so, knowing that any day now, the first glimpse of their beautiful Autumn colours will start showing. Sure enough, yesterday the flowers had gently turned from their summer light colour to a rosey-purple. Sure sign that Autumn is around the corner!  

On my drive into town early this morning, I even saw a very few trees, which are early-turners, begin showing off a few colours in their leaves.

Today and Thursday this week are the hot ones, accompanied by warm nights, but the other days are low-ish 20s Celsius / early 70sF, with this coming weekend on the cooler side, particularly at nights; the weekend will be very low 20s. Rain expected Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The grassy yards and gardens all around hardly had a chance to dry out this summer. Very grateful for this kindly balance of sunshine and rain this season ... unusual for our area in July, in particular (as I have said many times ). I have been able to leave the A/C off a lot this summer, which is also highly atypical.

Instead of burning hot sunny days with no relief for weeks, we have had a lot of welcome cloud cover, along with the precipitation. Since we have to have summers, I do wish every summer here could be like this!

The final week of August. I have been waiting for this. Some leaves are already just beginning to turn (the very early trees), my stonecrop/sedum plants are starting to display their falltime colours, turning from the beige shade to a beautiful lavendar tone. Sure sign that Autumn is knocking on the door!

This morning on my walk, it was 7°C / 44.6F. My ideal walking temp ranges from -5C to +5C (23 - 41F), so we're getting there! However, Labour Day weekend looks to be building up to hot and humid again, briefly though (thankfully), as that won't last long here this time of year. This week will be the longest stretch all summer without rain. Just grateful for this unusual, more wet, cool, and pleasant than normal summer weather.

Posted by: @jo

The final week of August. I have been waiting for this.

A big ditto there! The summer seems to have flown by - July and August, at any rate.

A few trees have begun changing colors here, though that might be due to the drought.

Last week saw our highest temperatures of the summer so far, with records set and the highest heat index readings since 2013. But cooler weather arrived for the weekend (we enjoyed a nice backyard fire last night under the Moon). It's supposed to get hot again for the long Labor Day weekend as well.

Very similar here, stargazer. While today is a comfortable 19C / 66.2F, this long weekend and into next week the heat is really ramping up to the point where the humidex will be near 40C / 104F. I think these few days will be the highest temperature we will have had all summer. And the driest. Not looking forward to this heat, even for a brief spell. In the meantime, tonight and tomorrow night are going down to 6C / 42.8F , with a very rare late August frost likely a couple of hours north of us.

We had a campfire planned with company for Monday, but no one wants to sit outside with that heat, so we have switched it to Friday, when the air will feel much more comfortable, both during the day and in the evening hours.  

Today begins our mini heat-wave, with temperatures soaring upwards from the more Autumn-like temperatures we have enjoyed. No walking for me this week, very sadly, except for tread-milling indoors, which, while necessary, is far from my favourite venue for exercising. This early September heat it to extend from today through Wednesday, with refreshing rain arriving Thursday to bring much better air quality and temperatures.

A few days ago, the forecast was for these four days was all sun. Blech. Now, however, that has changed, with clouds at some point every day, whew. While this does not alter the air temperature, it does allow some relief from that burning orb in the sky.  

Nighttime temps will be in the very high teens, even hitting 20C / 68F—hot and sticky. We have been spoiled this past July and August not having a long stretch of hot, humid, dry, cloudless periods. I guess these next four days are making up for that (aside from some cloud cover). We are thankful indeed that this is the first time we have had to use our A/C in weeks. Windows have been thrown open almost every day in the past couple of months, because of the cooler freshness that has permeated this summer.  

And with the impending heat comes Yellowjackets. School starts on Wednesday all around: kids will sure not be wearing jackets back that one day!

Now, just to make it through these next four days!  

These two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) are the hottest of our summer, and have already broken the record. This extreme normally comes in July ... 'tis very unusual to have such heat here in September. Temps are currently in the low 30s C (high 80s F), with the humidex reaching very early 40s (104-105F). Not much relief in the overnight hours either. Lovely. /blistering sarcasm

Rain is coming in later tomorrow, into Thursday and Friday, which should cool things down beautifully. By the weekend we will be down to daytime temps in the very low 20s C (high 60s F), and dropping to high single digits C at nights (late 40s F), hurrah!  

We had similar heat, Jo, with a number of record highs set last week and several days of 98F/37C. Yesterday was the hottest Labor Day on record in the Twin Cities.

But there's a slight risk for severe storms tonight as a cold front brings refreshing cool Canadian air our way. Tomorrow's predicted high (68F/20C) is about the same as the current dew point.  

I'm looking forward to more seasonal weather as we move into the wonderful fall season.

Posted by: @stargazer

as a cold front brings refreshing cool Canadian air our way.

Yay! Same here. Except ... I am in Canada. So, you're welcome.

We had strong thunderstorms overnight Wednesday (almost constant lightning, plus a power outage), which ushered in very comfortable air. Today is lovely and cool, to the point where I can get out in the gardens for harvesting various vegetables. So refreshing. Lots of cloud today, which helps, as well. Next week, the daytime temperature is not supposed to rise above 20C / 68F. Niiiice! And nighttime temps will be nearly touching the single digits Celsius. Early morning walks begin regularly again!

The stonecrop/sedum are pretty much fully turned their beautiful Autumn shades; the early trees also continue to have signs of slight colour. The soy plants in the huge field behind us are starting to turn their fall-time yellow, yet harvest is still weeks away (often into November). Many more weeks ahead to enjoy all this changing of the season!  

Posted by: @stargazer

I'm looking forward to more seasonal weather as we move into the wonderful fall season.

Huge ditto here!  

Posted by: @jo

... I am in Canada. So, you're welcome.

LOL!

We're enjoying that cool, refreshing air now. We went from those record highs to a high of 64F/18C yesterday, a drop of 30F in 24 hours. It was also the first day since May 19 with a high below 70F/21C, ending a string of 110 consecutive summer days.

The sky is so clear and crisp now, and the stars last night were brighter than usual for here in the suburbs.

Our spring weather hurried in last week, and so far I can't get used to these warmer days. I'm wary, because I knnow it'll be very changeable until well into November. 

Still fun looking in the mirror and seeing my freckles have tanned up though!

@stargazer: The sky is so clear and crisp now, and the stars last night were brighter than usual for here in the suburbs.

I'd like to see such a nice clear & crisp sky, here, now it is Spring. Sydney at the moment is surrounded by smoke, from burning off in preparation for the bushfire season, due to start in a month or so, even if not sooner. We've still been experiencing 6.AM temperatures of 6 degrees C, though the weather is warm enough by midday. Last weekend, it was still snowing at Perisher, in the Australian Alps, where the Snowy Mountains even look properly snowcapped for a change.

Spring has begun with hay fever, coughs & colds, ski injuries & other mishaps. I think I should go back into hibernation.  

Hibernation might be in our future here, wagga, as the days are rapidly shortening and we know winter is on the way.

The weather is quite variable here this time of year - hot, cold (frost has already occurred north of here), windy, sunny, etc. But this weekend has all the local meteorologists raving - two perfect days, falling on a weekend, no less! "Get outside!" they keep saying.

Highs around 70F/21C, some clouds and sun, no bugs or humidity...this is why we put up with the heat of summer or the cold of winter (for those who don't enjoy those things). A campfire is already on the docket for this evening.

It is well into Spring down in the basement of the world, and our daytime temperatures are more like 35 degrees Celsius, which is well above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Our very hot summer has just arrived. What a rush to get rid of heavy blankets, & to break out summer gear, all of a sudden! No campfires are being planned here, though, when there is a total fire ban already imposed in the Sydney region, at least. Salads & cold meats will really be de rigeur. Or sandwiches galore. I wonder how NZ is getting along, when as a rule they have much milder temperatures. 

Posted by: @stargazer

The sky is so clear and crisp now, and the stars last night were brighter than usual for here in the suburbs.

Beautiful!

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

Spring has begun with hay fever, coughs & colds, ski injuries & other mishaps. I think I should go back into hibernation.  

Posted by: @waggawerewolf27

It is well into Spring down in the basement of the world, and our daytime temperatures are more like 35 degrees Celsius, which is well above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Our very hot summer has just arrived.

Are those temperatures unusual for late Spring in your area of Australia, wagga? That is hot, ugh!

Here, we are entering a beautiful Autumn. Already the sumacs are turning, and trees are now showing more blushes of their fall-time garment colours. About half the nights in the past week have been around 5°C / 41F, which have been both wonderful to both sleep and walk in. This week, the daytime temps are in the low 20s, with hardly any humidity, and the little there is is barely noticeable. The nightimes will vary from 5C - 13C / 55.4F. Then dropping next week again.

We had some good rain a few nights ago, but now there is none forecast until Sunday or early next week. However, because we had so much rain all summer, everything continues to thrive, so there is no concern for a bit of a stretch without precipitation.

Because the temps have often been in the mid-single digits Celsius at night, the night skies have been a.m.a.z.i.n.g during my early morning walks. Glorious! I must post in Astronomy, because I had an anticipated treat this morning in the low eastern sky.  

How I revel in every Autumn day! And yes, the best campfire season is wonderfully upon us.  

EDIT: Apparently the northern lights were spectacular last night in parts of our province, specifically from the Bruce Peninsula (two hours north of us). If you are on Facebook, go to Ontario Storm Watch and see the gorgeously surreal photos one of the Admins posted there. 

@waggawerewolf27 here we have begun spring with a succession of warm days caused by the westerly winds sent across the Tasman. 

I'm feeling dehydrated and lazy. Keen to start planting in my garden but also unmotivated. Allergies from pollen etc have hit a lot of people badly, and I'm bored with hay-fever and coughing. Two more of these warm, windy days in my city, before a few days of rain which I'll welcome. 

El Nino.