The rains have stopped for now. Yesterday Mark commented that he’s surprised that Americans aren’t prepared for the severe weather. It’s not that we aren’t prepared for it, it’s just that many Americans don’t use common sense in weather like this. When they head to the mountains during a snowstorm they think they can drive the same speeds and can stop on a dime if needed. It’s the same with drivers down in the lower elevations during the rain storms. Hell, they drive without thought to other drivers even when it’s sunny and clear! All one needs to do is use their heads.
When winter is approaching we see to it that the firewood is gathered and stacked. We still need to wrap the outdoor pipes to protect them from freezing but when I brought it up to my husband he said, “It hasn’t froze yet.” Well it will freeze. Normally our temperatures are above freezing in the winter months but there are some clear nights when it drops to freezing. I guess we haven’t lost many of the irrigation pipes to freezing yet but every year we have covered or wrapped them. For the most part the pipes are running underground but it’s the parts that rise above ground where the faucets and valves are that have to be watched.
Of course having a horse that seems to enjoy knocking over things in her way doesn’t help. Luckily we keep a step or two ahead of her.
I’m not a lover of cold weather as some are. This time of year I’m wearing a sweatshirt with a sweatshirt jacket over that. I keep our fire burning in the woodstove from October until March. This year October was warm and I didn’t even need to light the fire until November. If spring comes early, the fire will be put out until the next winter. Heck, it’s still officially fall, winter doesn’t begin until December 22nd.
Kris asked what our average temperatures this time of year are. It’s hard to find that information as the closest I can find is for Sacramento, California. There’s so much difference between there and where I live in the foothills or up in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. Our altitude here is 900′ and it gets as high as 10,000′ in parts of the Sierra Nevada mountains so there’s a large range of temperatures throughout all of California.
Sacramento, California
Elevation: 18 feet Latitude: 38 31N Longitude: 121 30W
Average Temperature Years on Record: 48
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°F 61 46 51 54 59 65 71 76 75 72 64 53 46
Average High Temperature Years on Record: 48
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°F 74 53 60 64 71 80 87 93 91 88 78 64 53
Average Low Temperature Years on Record: 48
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°F 48 38 41 43 46 50 55 58 58 56 50 43 38
Highest Recorded Temperature Years on Record: 48
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°F 115 70 76 88 93 105 115 114 109 108 101 87 72
Lowest Recorded Temperature Years on Record: 48
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
°F 18 20 23 26 32 34 41 48 48 43 35 26 18
Average Precipitation Years on Record: 48
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
in. 17.4 3.7 2.8 2.6 1.2 0.4 0.1 — 0.1 0.3 0.9 2.2 2.8
Average Possibility of Sunshine Years on Record: 45
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
% 78 48 65 74 82 89 94 97 96 93 86 66 49
Average Number of Clear Days Years on Record: 45
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Days 189 7 8 10 12 17 22 27 26 24 19 10 8
Average Number of Cloudy Days Years on Record: 45
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Days 101 18 13 13 8 5 2 1 1 2 6 13 17
Average Number of Partly Cloudy Days Years on Record: 45
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Days 76 6 7 8 10 9 6 3 4 4 6 7 6
Average Number of Rainy Days Years on Record: 54
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Days 58 10 9 9 5 3 1 1 3 7 9
Average Number of Days Above 90F/32C Years on Record: 48
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Days 73 — — — — 5 12 22 19 13 3 — —
Average Number of Days Above 70F/21C Years on Record: 48
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Days 207 — 2 7 17 27 29 31 31 30 26 7 —
Average Number of Days Below 32F/0C Years on Record: 48
YEAR Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Days 18 7 2 1 — — — — — — — 1 7
I hope that chart sort of helps tell you what it’s like here. It’s pretty mild compared to other areas of the country. Sacramento weather is completely different from the area I live in though. We’re usually a few degrees cooler in the summer months and colder too in the winter months.
I guess idiot drivers are the same the world over, we have plenty of them here too, although on some of our road systems it’s hard to tell who’s an idiot driver and who’s actually being sensible and trying to follow the signs and road markings!
Comment by ren — December 19, 2007 @ 5:12 pm |
hehehehe giggles at drivers isn’t it amazing too how they drive and don’t end up in a major accident….
yeah it’s been chilly here too every other day now it has snowed it doesn’t stay but it is so damp and wet my bones hurt so bad…
Comment by 4raindrops — December 19, 2007 @ 11:26 pm |