The Summer Solstice Is Here

[MarkBC]

I may have been exaggerating, maybe jumping the gun a bit about imminent skiing ...
...But a freeze in Bend by mid-September wouldn't be out of the ordinary at all, and in the last 10 years we've had a freeze before the end of August at least once.

 

[MarkBC]

OK...instead of relying on memory -- looking at the records for the recording thermometer in my backyard:

• Last year the first freeze of the season (hit 32°F) was on Sept 11
• In 2008 the first freeze -- actually down to 29°F -- was on August 31

For a location at an elevation of less than 3600 feet (at my house) and at a latitude below 45°, Bend has a very short frost-free season.

 

[MarkBC]

My home furnace is on!
This morning when I got up and saw the thermometer in the middle of my house read 59° I decided to re-enable the thermostat and let it turn the furnace on.
The overnight low outside was 38°, and still haven't reached freezing yet this season...
...but winter is coming!

 

[ski3pin]

Fall first, Mr. BC, fall first.

 

[MarkBC]

Fall first, Mr. BC, fall first.

You're right...and we even have 3 more days of summer.

 

[craig333]

Please don't rush things. Even though rain is in the forecast for this weekend which I have off

 

[Riverrunner]

Yeah, don't rush it. There should still be some good weather left. It's been cool enough that my cat has been getting under the covers in the early morning. Change is a coming.

Since I live on the wet-side... I'm not looking forward to the change. Supposed to be a wet weekend here too...

 

[MarkBC]

Since I live on the wet-side... I'm not looking forward to the change. Supposed to be a wet weekend here too...

As my Portland friends will be saying soon, "we'll see the sun again in April"...
I say: "the West is best"...as long as you don't go too far west.
But then, there are people -- not me, but people -- who prefer the temperate dampness of western Oregon over the cold aridity of east-of-the-Cascades.

For me, "good weather" can easily include cold weather, winter weather. And not just "good" for skiing and then going indoors...but to wake up in my camper on a clear and frigid morning somewhere out the Great Basin desert (Wave heater dutifully radiating silent heat), emerge from the camper to the welcoming slap of sub-freezing-cold on my face, and see sunrise on snow-flocked sagebrush. I love that.
Bring it on, I say!

 

[Riverrunner]

Having lived in the Willamette Valley all of my life, you'd think I'd be used to it. I think I've become less tolerant as I age. I don't mind the rain really...it's the sometimes endless weeks of rain and dampness that get to me. I can handle the cold ok as long as it's clear and sunny! Central OR has some great weather.

I should of relocated myself when I was younger but alas it's too late. For now I just take vacations to better climates and keep my eyes peeled for a potential retirement location...provided I can actually retire.

 

[craig333]

One day of rain is okay. Multiple days not so much. I'm not a skier so to me the coming season is a sad time. When they announce the seasonal road closures and the gates are locked is a time for mourning.

 

[MarkBC]

One day of rain is okay. Multiple days not so much. I'm not a skier so to me the coming season is a sad time. When they announce the seasonal road closures and the gates are locked is a time for mourning.

Craig, don't waste half the year in mourning! And no need to ski to enjoy the cooler seasons... From Sac take 50 east and in a 120 miles you're where it's much drier. Not warmer...but drier and lots to explore. You seemed to enjoy the dry side this past March...