Weather!

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Beyond
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Re: Weather!

Post by Beyond » Mon Oct 03, 2011 4:36 am

owlice wrote:I just heard the bad "s" word uttered on the weather report. C'mon! It's October 2! WAY too early for that, even in the mountains!!
Hey! "s" is not bad. A little "s" is nice.
It only gets to be bad when the little "s's" start pileing up.
"s"
"s"
"s"
"s"
"s"
"s"
"s"
"s"
Trying to plod through "s's" over your knees, or higher, is just no fun at all. That's when you really have to shovel the "s" to get your "a" out and about.
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Ann
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Re: Weather!

Post by Ann » Mon Oct 03, 2011 4:43 pm

The last few days we've had a delightful Indian summer here. Today we had a little more than 20 degrees Celsius, which is really good for October. I think that may possibly be 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Both Saturday and Sunday were lovely, particularly Saturday, when the temperature was 23 degrees Celsius.


But now, apparently, the good days of summer are over, and the weather will be more and more windy and rainy over the coming week. Temperatures will drop, too. And the green leaves of the trees will not remain green for long, nor will they remain attached to the trees. :(

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Chris Peterson
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Re: Weather!

Post by Chris Peterson » Mon Oct 03, 2011 6:40 pm

Our weather has been most peculiar. After a light frost a few weeks ago, we've gone back to near summer conditions, with daytime temperatures near 20°C, and nighttime temperatures well above freezing. We still have wildflowers, and the aspens are at least a couple of weeks behind usual in changing. But they are finally going... not because of any cold weather trigger, but because some internal clock is finally timing out (probably based on day length). The result is an extended changing period, with some stands still completely green, and others near peak color. Both of these shots were made from horseback over the weekend.
IMAG0138p.jpg
IMAG0143p.jpg
One thing the lack of a cold weather trigger seems to have produced is more leaves changing red than usual. The color is rare with aspens, but quite a few trees are showing it at the tops this year.
IMAG0160p.jpg
This year is already on record as the hottest in Colorado's history, but it isn't just the absolute temperatures, but the distinct change in the timing of the seasons that is unusual- although it's a trend we've noted in the last few years.
Chris

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Re: Weather!

Post by neufer » Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:36 pm

Chris Peterson wrote:
Both of these shots were made from horseback...
Phew :!: :!: That's a relief. :p:

Based on the shadow I thought you might be some kind of E.T. (... a Triffid, perhaps).
Art Neuendorffer

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Re: Weather!

Post by Chris Peterson » Mon Oct 03, 2011 8:01 pm

neufer wrote:Phew :!: :!: That's a relief. :p:
Based on the shadow I thought you might be some kind of E.T. (... a Triffid, perhaps).
Yeah, that's why I mentioned it. I was afraid somebody (you in particular) might come up with such an interpretation...
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Re: Weather!

Post by Beyond » Tue Oct 04, 2011 7:09 pm

The Abominable Snowman (Yeti) throws a snowball at Yogi, and hits him right in the open pic-a-nic basket. It'll help keep the san-da-wichs and pop-a-cicles cold, until they finish their Romp through the jolly forums and later sit down together in the Open Space at Asterisk* Park and feed their faces. Then the Abominable Snowman will return to the high mountain on which he lives and Yogi will return to collecting runaway pic-a-nic baskets, until the next exciting adventure of :arrow: The Yogi and The Yeti.
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Re: Weather!

Post by orin stepanek » Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:50 pm

My Ash turned yellow. It is always my first tree to shed all its leaves. 8-)
fall 001.jpg
fall 001.jpg (71.63 KiB) Viewed 2154 times
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Re: Weather!

Post by neufer » Fri Oct 07, 2011 3:29 am

orin stepanek wrote:
My Ash turned yellow. It is always my first tree to shed all its leaves. 8-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Borer wrote:

<<The Ash Borer (Podosesia syringae), aka Lilac Borer, is a clearwing moth in the family Sesiidae. It is found throughout the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The ash borer is an example of Batesian mimicry, and is a serious pest of various trees of the olive family.

The black and yellow bands, prominent antennae and hind legs, and overall body shape of the Ash Borer resemble those of the paper wasp (Polistes fuscatus). When a potential predator encounters the Ash Borer, it may refrain from conflict mistakenly thinking that it may be stung. Thus the Ash Borer benefits from the similarity of its appearance to a more dangerous foe, making it a Batesian mimic of the wasp.

The Ash Borer is distinguished from the wasp in that it is somewhat larger, growing to a length of ¾ to 1½ inches, is amber-colored in addition to black and yellow, and lacks a stinger.

Ash Borer larvae feed on European Ash (Fraxinus excelsior), lilac, privet and mountain ash. The larvae destroy the tree's phloem, cutting off the supply of nutrients to the roots, weakening and possibly killing the tree. The tunnels dug by the larvae appear as dark wormholes in lumber harvested from infected trees, reducing its value.>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Ash_Borer wrote:
Image
A green ash killed by emerald ash borers
<<The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis or Agrilus marcopoli and EAB) is a green beetle native to Asia. In North America the borer is an invasive species, highly destructive to ash trees in its introduced range. The potential damage of this insect rivals that of Chestnut blight and Dutch Elm Disease. Since its accidental introduction into the United States and Canada in the 1990s, and its subsequent detection in 2002, it has spread to 14 states and adjacent parts of Canada. It has killed at least 50 to 100 million ash trees so far and threatens to kill most of the 7.5 billion ash trees throughout North America. The emerald ash borer is now one of the most destructive non-native insects in the United States; it and other wood-boring pests cause an estimated $3.5 billion in annual damages in the U.S.

The insect threatens the entire North American Fraxinus genus, unlike past invasive tree pests, which have only threatened a single species within a genus. The green ash and the black ash trees are preferred. White ash is also killed rapidly, but usually only after green and black ash trees are eliminated. Blue ash displays some resistance to the emerald ash borer by forming callous tissue around EAB galleries; however, they are usually killed eventually as well.

The adult beetle is dark metallic green, bullet-shaped and about 8.5 millimetres long and 1.6 mm wide. The body is narrow and elongated, and the head is flat with black eyes. Adults lay eggs in crevasses in the bark. Larvae burrow into the bark after hatching and consume the cambium and phloem, effectively girdling the tree and causing death within two years. The average emerging season for the emerald ash borer is early spring to late summer. Females lay around 75 eggs, but up to 300 from early May to mid-July. The borer's life cycle is estimated to be one year in southern Michigan but may be up to two years in colder regions.

The natural range of the emerald ash borer is eastern Russia, northern China, Japan, and Korea. Its first confirmed North American detection was in June 2002 in Canton, Michigan. It is suspected, that it was introduced by overseas shipping containers being delivered to Yazaki North America. It has since been found in several other parts of the United States and Canada. Ohio, Minnesota, and Ontario have experienced emerald ash borer migration from Michigan. Additionally, Maryland and Virginia received shipments of contaminated trees from a Michigan nursery. The emerald ash borer was confirmed in Indiana in April 2004, in Central Kentucky in the Spring of 2009 and in Northeast Iowa in May 2010.

The insect is unusually difficult to kill. More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk. Nearly 114 million board feet of ash saw timber with a value of US$25.1 billion is grown in the eastern United States each year. Over forty million ash trees have died or are dying in the United States at this time. The full time it takes for a tree to die due to the EAB is generally two or three years. Losses are estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. The National Ash Seed Collection Initiative collects and stores ash seeds in cryogenic vaults at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, CO. If the population of American ash trees is destroyed, the stored seeds will be the genetic base to re-establish ash.

As part of the campaign against the emerald ash borer (EAB), American scientists in conjunction with the Chinese Academy of Forestry searched since 2003 for its natural enemies in the wild leading to the discovery of several parasitoid wasps including Tetrastichus planipennisi. These tiny stingless wasps can sense beetles underneath the bark and then lay their eggs in the larvae or egg, thus killing them. Initial results have shown promise and it is now being released along with Beauveria bassiana, a fungal pathogen with known insecticidal properties.>>
Art Neuendorffer

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Re: Weather!

Post by Chris Peterson » Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:22 pm

Finally, some proper Colorado autumn weather! 3+ inches of snow and still falling.

October 5, 20°C
20111005_guffey.jpg
October 8, 0°C
20111008_guffey.jpg
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Re: Weather!

Post by BMAONE23 » Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:29 pm

What day of the year do you traditionally begin receiving snow in your area? Is this storm on time or early? (nice area to live in)

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Re: Weather!

Post by Ann » Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:30 pm

Chris, thank you for the delightful photos that you post here! :D In this case, I much prefer the top one with the wonderful autumn colors, but the bottom one is certainly interesting, too, as a contrast. And imagine, that much snow in early October! :(

They say we may have frost the coming night. I hope not!
Image
And to celebrate my two thousand and first post, an homage to the movie that, I guess, played a large part in making me an astronomy nerd: 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Image
Guess the number reminds me of Sheherazade plus a thousand, too.





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Re: Weather!

Post by Chris Peterson » Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:53 pm

BMAONE23 wrote:What day of the year do you traditionally begin receiving snow in your area? Is this storm on time or early? (nice area to live in)
We traditionally have considered Halloween (October 31) to be the day for a first heavy, winter snow. But in most years, we would have had two or three light snowfalls by this time, but without hard freezes.
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Re: Weather!

Post by Chris Peterson » Sat Oct 08, 2011 7:00 pm

Ann wrote:Chris, thank you for the delightful photos that you post here! :D In this case, I much prefer the top one with the wonderful autumn colors, but the bottom one is certainly interesting, too, as a contrast. And imagine, that much snow in early October!
But we have over 300 sunny days every year. Tomorrow, most of the snow will be gone, the Sun will be shining, and the autumn color will still be there... but possibly with some snow still present on the peaks. For me, that means still more photo opportunities over the next days!

And even the snow doesn't mean the world is colorless...
20111008_flower.jpg
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Re: Weather!

Post by Chris Peterson » Sat Oct 08, 2011 11:51 pm

Heck, I didn't even have to wait until tomorrow. 15cm of snow in the morning, and the Sun was out by mid-afternoon.
IMG_15729p.jpg
IMG_15685p.jpg
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Re: Weather!

Post by rstevenson » Sun Oct 09, 2011 1:27 am

Today we had a proper Fall day in Paradise (aka, Nova Scotia). It started out with a light frost in some low lying areas, but the temperature rose to 21° C by early afternoon. It'll be like this for a few more days at least. I took advantage of the lovely weather to ride over the bridge to Halifax and down to the Farmer's Market to pick up some blueberries and to have lunch. But now that I've used up my excuses, I must go back to studying Physics and memorizing dreivative equations for Math. [sigh]

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Re: Weather!

Post by Beyond » Sun Oct 09, 2011 3:06 am

Rob, why would you have to memorize derivative equations for math?? whatever that is
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Re: Weather!

Post by Chris Peterson » Sun Oct 09, 2011 4:24 am

rstevenson wrote:But now that I've used up my excuses, I must go back to studying Physics and memorizing dreivative equations for Math.
That seems like a waste of time in this day of powerful math programs. Understanding the concept is critical, of course, but even before Mathematica, people just looked up derivative and integral solutions.
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Re: Weather!

Post by owlice » Sun Oct 09, 2011 9:32 am

Go, Rob!!! Study study study!! You can do it!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weather here is lovely. I understand rain is on the way, but I fell asleep before hearing when it will arrive, though I suspect it will be after the long weekend (yay!).
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Re: Weather!

Post by orin stepanek » Sun Oct 09, 2011 11:56 am

My sister in Wyoming said they had 3 inches of snow already! I told her to keep it over there and not to let it get over into Nebraska. :shock: A sister in Idaho reported snow also.
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Re: Weather!

Post by rstevenson » Sun Oct 09, 2011 1:18 pm

Chris Peterson wrote:
rstevenson wrote:But now that I've used up my excuses, I must go back to studying Physics and memorizing derivative equations for Math.
That seems like a waste of time in this day of powerful math programs. Understanding the concept is critical, of course, but even before Mathematica, people just looked up derivative and integral solutions.
I coudn't agree more. My math professor couldn't agree less.

Luckily, my physics prof agrees with us; he wants to see how we use the equations, not how we remember them. But I have to pass both courses to move on.

Rob
[I was too busy memorizing them to remember to call them by their correct name. They are differentiation rules: Product Rule, Quotient Rule, and so on. Freshman Calculus.]

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Re: Weather!

Post by Chris Peterson » Sun Oct 09, 2011 1:39 pm

rstevenson wrote:[I was too busy memorizing them to remember to call them by their correct name. They are differentiation rules: Product Rule, Quotient Rule, and so on. Freshman Calculus.]
Well, you should know those things without looking them up. I thought you were memorizing lists of specific derivative solutions, which IMO would be a waste of time. Knowing the rules is a help even when using computerized math tools... as is the norm in physics.
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Re: Weather!

Post by bystander » Wed Oct 19, 2011 3:03 pm

It's COLD! High Monday was 80, Tues 64, low last night 41. It's now 48, not supposed to get out of the 50s, and freeze warning for tonight.
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Re: Weather!

Post by Chris Peterson » Wed Oct 19, 2011 3:11 pm

bystander wrote:It's COLD! High Monday was 80, Tues 64, low last night 41. It's now 48, not supposed to get out of the 50s, and freeze warning for tonight.
48 is cold? Has Oklahoma switched to measuring temperature in Kelvins?
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Re: Weather!

Post by bystander » Wed Oct 19, 2011 3:32 pm

Chris Peterson wrote:48 is cold? Has Oklahoma switched to measuring temperature in Kelvins?
Not all of us are mountain men. It's cold when you've been used to highs in the 80s and lows, at the least, in the high 50s. House temperature has fallen into the 60s, which isn't bad when you are active or sleeping, but a little cool for being lazy and doing nothing. I'm resisting turning on the heat in the house, but if the inside temps fall much more, I may be forced.
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Re: Weather!

Post by Chris Peterson » Wed Oct 19, 2011 3:35 pm

bystander wrote:Not all of us are mountain men. It's cold when you've been used to highs in the 80s and lows, at the least, in the high 50s. House temperature has fallen into the 60s, which isn't bad when you are active or sleeping, but a little cool for being lazy and doing nothing. I'm resisting turning on the heat in the house, but if the inside temps fall much more, I may be forced.
Wimp!
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