The Heat is on.......S

The warm winter, and hot Spring{for the most part} has turned into the dry and heat of the first partial week of Summer.

Summer officially begins tomorrow, but in reality it has been with us for quite awhile....one cool week, the first one of June, with some rain, is about as good as it has been....for now we bake, and I suspect we will continue to do so for the next 8 to 10 weeks, before we get a break, sometime after Labor Day...

It's gonna be a long, hot, Summer....enjoy!

Photo-Hazy Summer Sunshine east of Celina....

Freaky March....Winter Officially End..But?

Today begins the official beginning of Spring, but truthfully it began long ago.

After a much warmer, less snow filled winter in the Grand Lake Region, March has turned out like none I have seen in this area, since we moved here in the early 1960s...

The flowering trees and plants are at least a month ahead of normal, and today and tomorrow, March 20th and 21st are calling for sunshine and 85 for highs both days...needless to say both will be records, if they are reached.

Usually lawns get their first mowing in this part of the world about the first week of April, if then...many have already been mowed once, and by the weekend, most will have been trimmed once or twice...

Usually you expect weird weather to bring more weird weather from the opposite end, and this Spring may indeed do just that, however, at least for the next 10 days...highs, while drifting south out of the mid 80s, will still be in the 60s and 70s, well above normal for this time of year.

back later>>>

All Hell Breaks Loose in the Heartland!

The warmer winter of 2011-12 turned violent in the Grand Lake Region today...albeit most of the violent and deadly weather was south of us....especially in southern Indiana, where death and destruction were rampant in the area just north of Louisville, Kentucky.  With friends living Louisville, and a Vietnam buddy of mine, Tom McCandless living in Clark County, Indiana, where two small towns were leveled....it became a concern.

http://news.yahoo.com/massive-band-storms-wrecks-ind-towns-kills-8-005256035.html


I am sadly certain, that the death toll will rise....the rest of the weekend is now looking cold and windy, more like your typical early March weather.

Photos-I was out shooting photos before Sunrise this morning, within an hour of Sol coming up, the storms had began their assault on the Midwest....

The Winter of No Winter...So Far

As the last day of 2011 winds down, the snow machine has still yet to fire up.....no doubt the area skiers are buming, me? Not so much.

Since I don't ski these days....the mild, but muddy and rain filled weather, while not pleasant, still beats the alternative...if this is Global Warming, I'll take it!   We have not been below double digits for a low...13 perhaps the coldest morning, and that was one of less than a handful below 20 degrees....the highs, almost without a glitch, have stayed about freezing....nothing on the horizon, for the new year, suggests anything will change soon...although I am sure we will be getting some January like weather in the next weeks to follow...meanwhile we will enjoy the ice free roads and heating bill savings.



back later>>>>>

Photo-Grand Lake and the surrounding farm grounds remain unfrozen as 2011 turns into 2012.....a rarity indeed.

December Rains to Snow to Cold

After three solid days of rain, for a brief moment last night, that rain turned to wet snow....as the front moved through however, it quickly ended....today clouds, wind, and a small amount of frozen white stuff remains on the ground.

The extended forecast looks to be colder than normal, but mostly dry......

Cloudy today with a high of 37......

Photo-Our Sidewalk under water yesterday morning, the heavy rains turned to snow, then ended quickly, ushering in the windy and colder conditions....

Snow on the Way?

After 3 days of rain, cold rain at that, it appears the moister will change over to Snow by Midnight.....

We are only forecast to receive an inch or two, with maybe as much as 3 or 4 inches north and west towards Fort Wayne, Indiana, some 60 miles from the Grand Lake Region.....but even that would be welcome respite from the miserable conditions of the past 3 days.  After some almost "Indian Summer" like weatther to begin the past weekend, it all fell apart by late Saturday night, and Sunday, Monday, and today, have seen constant rain, sometimes lite, sometimes, heavy, but mostly steady and moderate.   Temperatures have hovered in the 40s for the most part...now we will see Snow and then some colder, bur dryer air arriving by tomorrow afternoon.

Today:  Rain, steady at times, High near 40
Tonight:  Rain, changing to Snow, low near 30, and inch of two possible
Tomorrow, Wednesday November 30th....Afternoon Clearing, highs in the upper 30s.

Photo-Celina and the Mercer County Fairgrounds, this morning, with lots of rain water not yet draining off....

A Round of November Storms

After spending the weekend at the in-laws in southeast Wisconsin, we headed back yesterday morning, aware that rain was predicted along the Lincoln Highway, Route US 33, but unaware just how much and how strong the rare November rain/lighting/tornado event would be.....by the time we hit Warsaw, Indiana, some 100 west of the home port, the rain picked up and by the time we arrived in Fort Wayne, the cloud to ground lightning and heavy rains, combined with strong winds, made the trip "interesting"....

Several Tornado Warnings were out as we crossed into Ohio, now one step ahead of the front....the rain arrived shortly after we arrived home, but the major lighting was reduced to more summer like non-sever events....it rained much of the evening and flood warnings were posted....however, nothing major in the Grand Lake region.

Today will be cloudy, but still mild for this time of  year...about 60, clearning tonight with a low near 40 and sunny but much cooler tomorrow and highs will remain in the low 40s.

Photo-The Mercer County Ohio Fairgrounds on a mid November Walk....