Wednesday Wonders What Thursday Will Teach and Tell,
It looks like High Summer is over for Dallas and perhaps for most of Texas. My definition of “High Summer” for Texas Heat is that Summer period within which lows stay above 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) at night and the highs hit 100 F (38 C) or more during the day.
Yesterday, the morning low at 7 AM CST for Dallas was 69 F (close to 20 C), and the high was only 78 F (about 25 C) — an official non-High Summer day. Ladies and Gentlemen, that high matched the record low high for the date set way back in 1919. It looks very much like Dallas is finished with triple-digit heat for 2012, and August 14 will have been our last 100-degree day. This is somewhat unbelievable for North Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth area, especially since Summer does not officially end until September 21, with the arrival of the Fall Equinox dividing night and day into equal portions.
Even with the current cooling, Dallas has had a disproportionate number of hot days this Summer. In total, there were 27 days over 100 compared to the average of 17 days besting the 100-degree mark. However, earlier rains and the hot dry weather have helped to bring in the crops. I believe all the milo and corn have been harvested by Uncle Joe down at the farm. The cotton has been defoliated, is drying in the fields and will be ready for harvesting soon. For the cotton, the weather forecast may signal a problem.
The Meteorologists are saying the recent rainy cold spell will continue into Autumn because an El Nino pattern is developing in the Pacific Ocean. For us in Texas, El Nino usually means rain and cooler temperatures, which we are starting to experience. Rain is not good for harvesting cotton, because the cotton needs to be dry to cut, clean and pack into huge blocks of raw white cotton that is transported to the gin for processing.
Mosquitoes do not like cooler temperatures, but they do use standing water to breed, and more rain means more standing water and potentially more mosquitoes. The planes have been spraying since last week, but the aerial attack is over for now. Unfortunately, the West Nile virus is still active. Two more deaths from the virus were confirmed yesterday. This brings the total confirmed deaths for the Dallas/Fort Worth area to 18, 11 in the area closest to our house. There is a 14-day incubation period before individuals stung by the carrier mosquitoes begin to exhibit symptoms. Everyone is hoping and praying that in about two weeks the number of confirmed cases will start to track downward and there will be no more deaths. Drier weather would help, but so does cooler weather. So, the forecasts present a mixed blessing.
As often is the case, weather has both favorable and unfavorable effects. Its manner can be unpredictable, its occurrence surprising and its results mixed and uncertain. Nature seems to have the upper hand. Hopefully, it will be a helping hand.
Watch your weather, take precautions for your locations, and keep us in your prayers,
Grandpa Jim