Sunshine!

29th December, 2010. It is so nice to see some blue sky and sunshine today. I don't like to whinge about rain, but there has been what seems like a constant, steady deluge this month. To check I wasn't imagining the volume of precipitation, I've had a look at rainfall records at the Southport weather station. Rainfall total for December 2010 so far is 494mm, with the highest daily fall of 112mm this Monday. The rainfall total for December 2009 was 107.8mm for the month. I have memories of last year being a fairly wet one, clearly the La Nina pattern is stronger this year.

In the garden, green is luminous, growth is rampant and the climbing Rattlesnake Beans I had planned to seed save for sowing next year, have sprouted in their pods.

Christmas Weather

As you can see from yesterdays weather chart we had a beautiful clear summer's day for Christmas. Lunch was in the garden and dinner on the verandah.

We feasted on local seafood, berries, cherries and Australian free range ham and a christmas cake made from Australian dried fruit and I thought how lucky we were to have fantastic local produce to enjoy.

Earlier in the morning we had called my partner's sister who lives in North Western new South Wales on a wheat and sheep property. Their day was spent rushing to try and get the harvest in before the rains came. Lunch was a ham and tomato sandwich. At about 4pm we got a text from Carol saying there had been a cloud burst and the paddocks and roads were flooded. What started as the bumper year to recover from many years of drought was not to be.

Much is made about the inappropriate use of land by farmers but I think we all want to eat local, not imported, food for our Christmas feast and, for that matter, everyday. Some one is eating a sandwich in the field while you sit down to the family lunch Ms Gillard. Look after our farmers.

The Day before Summer Solstice.

It's 10:30am the day before summer solstice and outside it is blowing a gale and I have had to stake my prized sunflowers which are now over 2m high. And, yes that is a fire as it is 9˚C outside.

Wild summer weather.

Storm Clouds Thursday 16th December

The deep cornflower blue of blanketing clouds in the sky sends ominous signs of an approaching storm front. The air feels thick with heat, humidity and pressure building, working towards the first deep rumbles. Summer storm season has arrived.

Sydney Weather

In Sydney for 2 weeks for my exhibition I am struck by the difference between the coastal and highland summer climates. It's been hot and humid here although there are afternoon sea breezes to provide some relief. This blazing pink sky was the evening view from the apartment after a hot summer day.

Sunday 5th December 2010

Rain, rain, rain and....MORE rain. Predictions of a wet summer are looking very accurate at the moment. Wet is almost too weak a term for the volume of rain some areas have recieved in the last week, saturated and flooded is more like it.

30 November: Rain and Mist

Today we have had steady heavy rain with mist. Definitely an indoor day. There are puddles everywhere and the sweetpeas are collapsing with the weight of all the water.

Highland Weather ....Damp

Heavy rain all day and a fire tonight on the second last day of spring.

No change forecast for the near future.

Mittagong NSW

13°C

Current: Cloudy
Wind: S at 27 km/h
Humidity: 92%

Mon

14° | 12°

Tue

18° | 13°

Wed

19° | 13°

Thu

19° | 14°

29th November 2010

Thick humid skies on the Gold Coast with sunny (blue) patches and showery (grey) patches.

22 January 2010

Light broken clouds in the early morning sky.

The constant hot dry weather is starting to feel monotonous. With no forecast of rain on the horizon each day is consistently hot, lots of sunshine around 33 degrees celsius and humid. I think some people would call this perfect weather, it's not bad, I just like a little variation now and then, and a little rain for the garden would be good.


I find the late afternoon, early evening a time of reprieve from the heat of the day. In the last week air has cooled as the sun begins to set, although still humid, this is a pleasant time to be outdoors taking in the last light of the day.

19 January 2010

It was another hot, sunny day on Tuesday; not quite as hot as Monday. Cornflower blue skies in the late afternoon were dotted with white clouds and a light breeze. Black wattle trees are starting to flower, dragonflies hover and dart around the tree tops. In the evening it cooled a little making sleep more comfortable.

High Summer?

The last few days have seen the arrival of a cold front.
Yesterday we awoke to 8 deg C and the temperature made it too 17C. The skies were filled with high fluffy clouds and strong winds (from the Alps?) made it seems even cooler.

Today the skies are clear and a warmer day is forecast.

Invigorating weather and so different from high summers I was accustomed to in Brisbane.

16 January 4:35pm

Since my move from the subtropics to a cool temperate zone I now have a much more subtle skyscape to observe. My last house had an elevated west facing verandah and I was able to see many flamboyant  sunsets and to watch the storm clouds roll in from the west.
My western skyscape is now obscurred by a enormous (30m) hedge of leylandii pines in my neighbours garden.
So as I hear rumblings of thunder in the distance there is a soft silver sky with moderately high cloud.

 

15th January 2010

This mornings sky was a mixture of fluffy white and dark grey clouds, it was hard to tell if it was going to be sunny or if a storm might develop. It is hot with little breeze, I hope the forecast showers arrive this afternoon.

14 January 2010

It was hot on Thursday, brilliant sunshine, humid, hot. At the end of the day bands of light pale clouds drifted across the sky, I thought they looked rather beautiful.

13 January

After a very warm day yesterday the cool change which began last night continues to roll in with the customary highland mist.

The temperature has dropped further in the few minutes since I downloaded this report it feels like about 24 degrees.

12 January 2010

It was hot and sunny on Tuesday with clear blue skies until late in the afternoon when a light cloud cover formed. I love this time at the end of the day when the air cools slightly and for a short moment, if the light is right, the landscape takes on a wonderful golden glow.

11th January, 2010

Today is what I think of as Postcard weather. Beautiful cornflower blue skies with white fluffy clouds and bright sunshine. It looks good but any physical activity outdoors leaves you soaking wet in sweat within half an hour.
The Southport weather station is recording 28.5degrees with 64% humidity at 2pm this afternoon.

9 January 2010 4:15PM

The combination of warm sunny days with cool nights after last weeks rain has seen the lawn grow and the vege garden bolt with many herbs flowering.

Clear skies, high cloud, cool breezes and low humidity make the heat tolerable.

Twenty minutes, 7th January 2010

5:05pm, 7th January, 2010.

5:25pm, 7th January 2010.

Recording observations of weather and sky again this month, I can't help but ponder the uniqueness of each moment. Weather never stands still, the sun is always moving, or the earth is, incrementally; clouds, breeze, temperature, a constant state of flux, making every moment unique.

I took the first photo as I walked down to the letter box, after I wondered round the garden I took the second photo on the way back up to the house.

Evening 6 January Southern Highlands

Here is the same view that I posted yesterday as the mist rolled in accompanying a cool change.

We had several little storms throughout the day which were mainly thunder and a few drops of rain but it remained warm and humid until the mist arrived and the temperature dropped to the mid teens.

January 6th, afternoon

Todays forecast for the Gold Coast was clearing skies and sunshine, but grey clouds are still blanketing the sky with an odd misty shower passing through to add a little more humidity. It is very muggy, humid, clammy, enough to make me think I could probably steam a fish in the atmosphere outside today.

Late afternoon January 4th & 5th

As the sun was setting on Monday, dark clouds that had hung in the sky throughout the day cleared to reveal clear cerulean blue. A cool breeze dropped temperatures overnight for a more comfortable nights sleep.

The sun came out today, radiating heat from the ground and raising humidity. Now as the sun sets an opaque layer of light grey blankets the sky. Cool air is back again, the thought of another unclammy night is welcome.

5 January 2010 AM

My new house doesn't offer as many opportunities to look at the sky as my old highset house in Brisbane did. Most view have trees and planting instead of an horizon line. This morning the sky is once again blue after three days of light rain and pearl grey skies. I like the layers of vegetation here as we go from clipped hedge, mans attempt to impose order on nature, to fruit and exotic trees to native gum trees.

January shades of Rain

This morning I awoke to a sky filled with dark grey clouds and a light breeze. The air is warm and damp. After eleven days with rain in various volumes, grass has taken on a flourescent glow in the low light of cloudy skies.

January Skies

I haven't posted for a while as other projects have taken precedence but at the suggestion of Nicola Moss a co contributer to this blog we have decided to look at the sky for the month of January.
After a clear and sunny day on 1 January a change blew in during the after noon of 2 January.

Changing Skies afternoon January 2, 2010. Southern Highlands NSW.