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OT-Seasonal Changes, Tedster?


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Say....

 

This might be a question for Tedster, or maybe i'm just smoking crack.

 

The last couple of weeks where I'm at (Southeastern Wisconsin, USA), we had an unusual spell of weather. It was much cooler than usual (50s and 60s Fahrenheit) and rainy.

 

Since then, i'm noticing that all the trees are changing colours, some types of them are completely bare already, and there are geese flying south... Starting in the first week of August! :eek:

 

Somehow i don't recall any of this supposed to be happening until about mid-September or so, and even then it would still get fairly warm in the daytime, but cool off at night. Trees change colour but don't really start losing leaves by the truckload until the end of Sept, etc.

 

People think i'm silly when i say this, but it even smells like fall. Certain seasons have a "smell" to them, or at least -I- can smell it. Haven't met anyone else who will agree with me on that though.

 

Is anyone else in the general mid-western U.S. seeing this too? How about in Canada, where the cold front swept down from? If the law of "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction", does this mean that in some places like Australia, where they drive on the wrong side of the road, they've launched into an early spring?

 

Tedster, is this at all a cyclical phenomenon, similar or related to the El Nino/La Nina, Twin Hurricanes, etc?

 

Btw, it *is* temperature that throws the switch in the trees, right? right?

 

Or maybe i'm wrong on all accounts. I did just turn 30, afterall...

Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper

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WWND?

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The same cool weather made it to Texas. Instead of 95 day, it's been 85 day. Mornings wonderful, even hit 60's. :love:

 

Bro charts the weather. He said will be sick hot soon, wind off the gulf again. Lows to be 76. Yuck.

 

I recall one other time in the past ten years, a spell like this in August. It had never happened in my lifetime that I recall.

 

It's amazing how good 70 degrees feels.

> > > [ Live! ] < < <

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It's 61F right now, according to weather.com...

 

supposed to be a high of 72...

 

I still say this is odd. We're supposed to be baking hot right now..

Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper

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WWND?

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Same in Tennessee. It's been a cool summer all the way around, mostly (here), because the humidity has been extremely low. Then, almost a month ago, the cool weather hit the midwest, all over.

 

I think we had a half week of typical Nashville Summer Weather. Hot and very humid. The rest of this Summer has resembled Spring. Near or at record lows several times in the past few weeks.

 

I drove up to the Chicago/Northern Illinois area the weekend of July 24th with the A/C on in the car. That Monday we drove home (9 hours) with the A/C off. Gave me a chance to see just how much better mileage my new car would get. I averaged almost 37 mpg, compared with 24 - 26 mpg with A/C. :thu:

 

I don't understand what's going on. I'd hoped Ted would have already chimed in on this thread before I took a peek. ;)

It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman

 

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Well, the middle of Indiana has been way too cool for this time of year. Officially, we haven't hit 90° yet this year, and it may not even happen. That's very unusual. And, I was watching the news the other morning, and apparantly there was a prediction of a cool summer for this year. The same source has stated that this winter will be very mild, as well.

 

I guess we'll see.

**Standard Disclaimer** Ya gotta watch da Ouizel, as he often posts complete and utter BS. In this case however, He just might be right. Eagles may soar, but Ouizels don't get sucked into jet engines.
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Originally posted by Tedster:

Gotta sleep sometime, Neil...

 

Yeah, there's a glacier coming down my driveway.

 

Nawww, but you guys are right. Lemme wake up a bit...same thing here in Missouri...

Hey! I ignored this thread for a whole day before reading it. :D You shoulda had time to post 4 different responses in that time, big guy! ;)

 

How did you get to 17,000 posts?!? :eek:

It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman

 

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Originally posted by phaeton:

 

Btw, it *is* temperature that throws the switch in the trees, right? right?

I could be wrong...by I do beleive that it is not the temp...but the sunlight...that causes the changes.

 

As the sun's rays begin to get shorter and more distant in the Fall...that's what triggers the leaves to die.

 

But...I think the amount of rain/dry and the temp may have some impact on the depth/vividness of the colors in the changing leaves.

If there are too many extreams during the Summer...and the leaves kinda' just turn brown real quick and fall off.

 

And just so I didn't put my foot in my mouth... :D

 

After I finished typing the above comments...I Googled "fall foliage"...and came up with this link that confrims my understanding of the process:

 

Fall Foliage - why we get the colors

miroslav - miroslavmusic.com

 

"Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important."

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Thanks for the links, miroslav...

 

Tedster, does this glacier coming down your driveway have any Soviet Canadians in it?

 

I'm sure that they're to blame for *something*...

 

:D

Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper

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WWND?

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Originally posted by phaeton:

People think i'm silly when i say this, but it even smells like fall. Certain seasons have a "smell" to them, or at least -I- can smell it. Haven't met anyone else who will agree with me on that though.

I agree with that 100% Also, the air smells different in different parts of the world.

 

I know I've posted this a few times recently but it's relevant here again:

 

Last year Scotland had it's warmest summer on record.

This year Scotland is having it's wettest summer on record. (2 months worth of rain already in August)

 

Don't ye think that's a bit of a severe swing in the space of one year!?

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Yeah, both you guys have it right...Phaeton, yup, certain seasons smell differently to me as well. I think a lot has to do with the pervasive odor of vegetation that's usually around...and the changes it's undergoing. I would surmise that way before a leaf starts to turn color, chemical changes are taking place, some of which have a perceptible odor. I also get a distinct smell before it snows. The air smells a certain way. On a crisp fall day, sometimes, to me, the air smells a bit like beer. Now, of course, it could have something to do with a desire for a brew...but it really does have that sort of aroma to it.

 

The vegetation thing probably has a lot to do with the Flying Scotsman's observation of different parts of the world smelling differently.

"Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine"
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Frost advisories for north and central Wisconsin all weekend long... those usually don't hit till about November...

 

True, the changes in the smell of the air have a great deal to do with the vegetation- for example, a lot of the places i happen to be at in WI right now smell quite heavily of corn. There are so many corn plants that you can actually smell them. It's kind of a relaxing smell, actually.

 

I too smell snow before it comes, just like rain. It's a *certain* smell- kind of cold, and "clean". There is a certain smell of winter also, and maybe it's the smell of *no* vegetation. Spring actually has two smells to it, and this is kind of funny:

 

1) The first smell is the smell of all the half-fermented leaves that froze before they were able to completely decompose. This is soon overpowered (within a day or two) by the smell of all the animal crap that froze the minute it hit the ground. When all that starts thawing out, you certainly know it :eek:

 

2) About 2 weeks after that is when all the flora and fauna start to really get rolling

 

Flyscots:

Bottle me up some scottish air and send it, i'm curious to what it smells like ;)

 

Is this part of an overall pattern, though? I know that these are the warmest, then the wettest on record, but is there some cycle where you'll have a warm summer then wet summer back-to-back every so many years?

 

Reason I ask, is that in the PacNW where i grew up, there seemed to be a drought cycle of about 7 years. At its height, the dryness would cause horrendous forest fires, and at its lowest, the insane amount of rain would cause some minor flooding and landslides. Each end has severe storms too- Thunderstorms with lightning, or downbursts that level acres of trees and mobile homes.

 

Each end of it seems to be getting more and more extreme, and many are quick to jump on such things as global warming, and (more locally) the Heat Island Effect, deforestation, etc. etc...

Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper

.

WWND?

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