Southern Hemisphere Growing Season 21/22

[sandgroper 1,361]

11 minutes ago, cbmnz said:

It's still the case that >50C has only been recorded a handful of times in Aus, right.  So even by hot part of Australia standards that must be up there.

It's certainly pretty warm. A lot of the really warm parts of the country are sparsely populated so it's difficult to know as official weather recording stations are only where people are but places like Mardi, Marble Bar etc.... certainly give a pretty good idea as to how unpleasant it gets out there. There's nothing nice about temps above 45c, I've spent plenty of time in them and I don't like it, it's hard keeping beers cold.

[greysrigging 2,759]

21 hours ago, cbmnz said:

It's still the case that >50C has only been recorded a handful of times in Aus, right.  So even by hot part of Australia standards that must be up there.

Only 4 times oficially ( ie in a Screen ) since the BOM formed in 1908. |
Wilcannia, NSW in 1939.
Oodnadatta, SA in 1960 ( twice )
Mardie, WA in 1998.
There has been a couple of close calls in recent years, a 49.9c at Eucla, WA a couple of years ago comes to mind.

[Tyrone 2,666]

It’s been very mild here. Low to mid twenties during the day and mid teens at night with humidity. Getting close to 100% RH some nights. Heating up next week though. We may see some mid thirties come through. Just when I go back to work too. 

[sandgroper 1,361]

Was warm in Onslow today, it got to 50.7c matching Oodnadatta's record from the sixties.

[cbmnz 466]

Make that 6 times then. That place is on the coast but I see there is a SE land breeze. Perhaps it will break the record today.

[sandgroper 1,361]

Looks like the Pilbara is in for a cold snap come Tuesday.

[Tyrone 2,666]

Looks like down here will be in the thirties from wed thru sat. Heatwave. Bring it on. The warmest we’ve been this year is 27C. 

[PalmCode 239]

Another big  rain maker just missed us. Darn it. Too much constant high air pressure drifting in from the tasman pushing any lows away. Barely any precipitation where i am  for over a month now. 

[Tyrone 2,666]

On 1/16/2022 at 11:03 AM, PalmCode said:

Another big  rain maker just missed us. Darn it. Too much constant high air pressure drifting in from the tasman pushing any lows away. Barely any precipitation where i am  for over a month now. 

Similar thing happening here too. Almost no rain for a month and almost none forecast for the next 10 days. Totally different to last year so far. We had thunderstorms all the time this time last year. Still I'm not complaining as this place was ringing wet for months. 

[Tyrone 2,666]

So after a very dry start to summer and this year, it looks like bit of rain is coming to us from Monday through to Thursday which is welcome. We nearly hit 32C here today but at the moment it’s about 28C with dewpoints just under 20C. So quite humid for the west. Going for a bit warmer tomorrow with a warm evening forecast so will be going down the beach again. 

[sandgroper 1,361]

6 days in a row over 40c, it's been very unpleasant, we get a bit of a reprieve for a few days now but it's supposed to be back over 40c by next weekend.

[Tyrone 2,666]

1 hour ago, sandgroper said:

6 days in a row over 40c, it's been very unpleasant, we get a bit of a reprieve for a few days now but it's supposed to be back over 40c by next weekend.

Keep the garden moist in that sort of heat. Easier said than done though. 

That is one thing I don’t miss about Perth. I remember one year we had a run of hot weather and one day it was 42C with gusty 50kmh easterlies and extremely dry. I kept the moisture up to the garden and still lost a Dypsis lastelliana in the shade. Brutal dry heat. 

[Tyrone 2,666]

For the last few days its like we've been stuck in the clouds. Fully overcast, humid and drizzly, with days in the low twenties and nights in the mid teens. Now the clouds have cleared and the temps are rising again. Its a long way off but Windy.com is predicting for next Sunday, 36C low humidity and northerly winds before thunderstorms roll in from the west. Definite beach weather that and a bit of the challenge for the garden which is used to much milder temps. The place has dried out though. Many of the fields which stay green all Summer are dry and look like straw. 

How is the weather going over in NZ?

[PalmCode 239]

Luckily had a couple brief thundery showers pass through early on the week, temps around 25-17. We're looking at droughts again if we dont get serious rain in the next few weeks.
Iv'e been watching the GFS and ECMWF windy.com maps and at this point it really looks like any approaching rain deliberately avoids the upper north island land area, its crazy. For a relatively small area of land, seeing so much rain fall literally every  direction for miles at sea is frustrating. But it is what it is.

[cbmnz 466]

1 hour ago, PalmCode said:

Luckily had a couple brief thundery showers pass through early on the week, temps around 25-17. We're looking at droughts again if we dont get serious rain in the next few weeks.
Iv'e been watching the GFS and ECMWF windy.com maps and at this point it really looks like any approaching rain deliberately avoids the upper north island land area, its crazy. For a relatively small area of land, seeing so much rain fall literally every  direction for miles at sea is frustrating. But it is what it is.

That rain on Tuesday night slid by only 10km to the East of here, large areas just West of here have had  around 5mm for the month. May have just scraped together 10mm here.  Something seemed to happen to our Summers from the start of 2019, it seems to default to continuous high pressure from November to March with only the odd incursion of rain that does not fall over a very wide area.  Looking like my closest official station is going to record over 300hrs of sun for the month which is well above the average of only 230-240.

[cbmnz 466]

On 1/9/2022 at 12:31 PM, cbmnz said:

Entirely because I posted that, it has started to open today. 

Update  -opened and looking happy now 

[cbmnz 466]

Update on queen. One of the oldest fronds has also collapsed. The one I had to cut off, the remainder opened normally and next one looks to be opening normally. So for now seems no obvious cause other that heavy new frond got wet then some wind collapsed it 

[Tyrone 2,666]

On 1/29/2022 at 8:20 AM, cbmnz said:

Update on queen. One of the oldest fronds has also collapsed. The one I had to cut off, the remainder opened normally and next one looks to be opening normally. So for now seems no obvious cause other that heavy new frond got wet then some wind collapsed it 

Queens are tough as. Yours looks healthy. 

[Tyrone 2,666]

I got up just before 9am this morning being a Sunday and all and looked outside to see a cloudy day but very hazy. I thought either humidity, drizzle, or smoke. Hopefully not smoke. I went outside and the humidity hit. It’s about 21C 90% RH and drizzling but it doesn’t feel cold. 

Yesterday we had a mostly sunny day with a humid 28C with dewpoints that almost made 21C. Very sticky. 

Not much rain to speak of but if I keep everything moist the garden should be loving it. 

[Tyrone 2,666]

Today’s Forecast. Min 18C Max 19C. So far it looks like it’s going to be the case. Real mild for January.

Perth is 18C to 34C, only 330kms north as the crow flies. 

[sandgroper 1,361]

1 hour ago, Tyrone said:

Today’s Forecast. Min 18C Max 19C. So far it looks like it’s going to be the case. Real mild for January.

Perth is 18C to 34C, only 330kms north as the crow flies. 

I would happily swap with you for a few days mate, I'm getting sick of the warmth.

[Tyrone 2,666]

Just checked a couple of minutes ago. 19.1C and UV index of 11 with full cloud cover. Easy to accidentally fry up today out there. 

[greysrigging 2,759]

Something you don't see that often in Albany.....3 consecutive days above 32c !

[Tyrone 2,666]

3 hours ago, greysrigging said:

Something you don't see that often in Albany.....3 consecutive days above 32c !

No, but me doubts it will happen that way. Windy.com has it as 30C Friday, 35C Saturday and around 30C Sunday then rain. Will see how it turns out. The rain afterwards looks interesting. A big circulation comes through Sunday night and Monday and depending on where it actually tracks, could drop a fair amount or next to nothing on us. I'd accept the rain but not high winds. I'm over constant heavy winds. 

[PalmCode 239]

Well I just dug out that hedyscepe I planted last year. The sun was just burning it too much where it was. So think i'll just keep it in a pot out of the summer sun from now on. Just hope it survives the transplant now. I would of cut through some roots.

[Tyrone 2,666]

44 minutes ago, PalmCode said:

Well I just dug out that hedyscepe I planted last year. The sun was just burning it too much where it was. So think i'll just keep it in a pot out of the summer sun from now on. Just hope it survives the transplant now. I would of cut through some roots.

I hope it recovers. As it was recently planted hopefully it doesn’t feel much root disturbance. A bit of seaweed extract and fish emulsion should stimulate root growth a bit. 

 

[PalmCode 239]

2 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I hope it recovers. As it was recently planted hopefully it doesn’t feel much root disturbance. A bit of seaweed extract and fish emulsion should stimulate root growth a bit. 

 

Yep I'll definitely buy some seasol mix for it. I loaded the soil with blood and bone that has a seaweed formula in it so hopefully thats good enough. Also threw a few earth worms in there to.

[Tyrone 2,666]

On 2/2/2022 at 9:39 AM, greysrigging said:

Something you don't see that often in Albany.....3 consecutive days above 32c !

You could be right. Windy.com has today, tomorrow, and Sunday forecast for 34C, 37C and 35C respectively. The hottest spell in over 12 months. 

[cbmnz 466]

Still yet to ever  record a 20C overnight low on my home station even with suburban heat island effect, but this is the official forecast for tomorrow so must be a chance.

[greysrigging 2,759]

[sandgroper 1,361]

Can't wait for Monday, coldest day in months, looking forward to it, I'm sick of the heat.

[Tyrone 2,666]

It looks like it will hit 40C here today. Already 30C by 8.30am. 

Bad fire potential too. Denmark was hit bad yesterday. Reportedly homes lost. 

[greysrigging 2,759]

On 2/2/2022 at 2:11 PM, Tyrone said:

No, but me doubts it will happen that way. Windy.com has it as 30C Friday, 35C Saturday and around 30C Sunday then rain. Will see how it turns out. The rain afterwards looks interesting. A big circulation comes through Sunday night and Monday and depending on where it actually tracks, could drop a fair amount or next to nothing on us. I'd accept the rain but not high winds. I'm over constant heavy winds. 

Bloody Hell....44c  at Albany Airport....none of us saw this coming !

[Tyrone 2,666]

I’ve peaked at 43.5C! 

Right now it’s 43C with a 21.5C dewpoint. 

Ive been madly trying to wet vulnerable foliage down to stop things cooking. I’m on a 10 minute timer on one garden bed at the moment which is in full sun. I’ve sustained damage here. 

[Tyrone 2,666]

It’s not every day you can say that Albany was hotter than Marble Bar. 

Albany 43.5C

Marble Bar 38.1C

Chilly Marble Bar.

[cbmnz 466]

3 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I’ve peaked at 43.5C! 

Right now it’s 43C with a 21.5C dewpoint. 

Ive been madly trying to wet vulnerable foliage down to stop things cooking. I’m on a 10 minute timer on one garden bed at the moment which is in full sun. I’ve sustained damage here. 

Darn. Hope your large numbers of Rhopalostylis are not too badly hit. Where they evolved, they are not ever subjected to temperatures anywhere near that, with possible exception of some  pockets at the edge of their natural range, around the Kaikoura area, that does see up to 35C in occasional foehn NW flows.  

[Tyrone 2,666]

2 hours ago, cbmnz said:

Darn. Hope your large numbers of Rhopalostylis are not too badly hit. Where they evolved, they are not ever subjected to temperatures anywhere near that, with possible exception of some  pockets at the edge of their natural range, around the Kaikoura area, that does see up to 35C in occasional foehn NW flows.  

Almost all my Rhopies are under canopy and a large number are still in the shadehouse. One exception is a 1.6m tall Chatham that gets a lot of sun from 11-3pm surrounded by Hedychium ginger, and I’ve planted other palms to shade it but they are not tall enough yet. From about noon until 3pm I drenched it completely on 10-15min intervals and I think I prevented it from burning. Luckily from tomorrow night the temps cool right off again, but it would have hated the heat. I basically drenched all the garden it was in which is also filled with Cyatheas which hated it too. I think I saved the lot from more than just a little bit of damage. All my other Rhopies in the landscape didn’t burn. 

I did get damage to some Howeas that sat under a break in the canopy at the wrong time. I wet the foliage down too but couldn’t prevent the burning.

I think my Juanias under heavy shade in my shadehouse will just die though. I may be in the coolest part of WA or even mainland Australia but it’s too hot for Juania. Had to try though. 

[Tyrone 2,666]

Was just looking at Perth’s temps today and Gooseberry Hill hit an astonishing 45.5C. That is just incredibly hot for 32S. 

[sandgroper 1,361]

Today was just nasty, not sure what Jandakot got to but it was certainly warm and unpleasant. 

[cbmnz 466]

On 2/4/2022 at 9:51 PM, cbmnz said:

Still yet to ever  record a 20C overnight low on my home station even with suburban heat island effect, but this is the official forecast for tomorrow so must be a chance.

Overnight low was 21.4C, so that record for my station is smashed. Not pleasant with no A/C, I'd be fine with that being a once off but got 21C overnght lows forecast for later in the week. Madness.