This is the last full weekend of daylight saving time and it appears that will see a lot of sunshine, but not without some clouds and a slim chance of showers.  We set the clock back next Sunday morning for that wonderful night when we get an extra hour of sleep.

This area of mainly clear skies extends back the Midwest and means sunshine and clear skies will also be evident across the St. Louis area through the weekend.  If you are headed to Missouri, expect temperatures to be a bit milder than they have been here, topping out in the upper 50s to lower 60s.  There will even be a few hours tomorrow when the temperatures can hit 65 during the warmest part of the day.
 
 
 
Back here in southern Maine temperatures continue on the chilly side with most areas outside of the immediate coast having experienced a light frost to hard freeze.
This morning, some of the colder spots went well into the 20s. By now, even the coast has often seen a hard frost, but this year things continue mild enough so those of you who live nearest the water have still not gone below the freezing mark.
 
 
The general weather continues to be quiet and dry.  In September we had normal amounts of rain, but this month rain has been scarce.  Because the ground doesn’t dry out nearly as fast in fall as it would just 8 weeks ago, a drought isn’t a big concern.  However, if you did do some planting since September, it’s a good idea to water those newly planted trees and shrubs.
 
 
We do have a couple of cold fronts that will pass through the region over the next week, but unless you are a meteorologist and interested in such things, they really won’t be worth much beyond a quick sprinkle.  
 
 
The first front will go through Saturday and Saturday night and therefore an increase in clouds is likely tomorrow and a few light showers are possible. If you have outdoor activities planned, the showers should be light enough you can continue them.
 
 
Sunday continues with more sunshine and temperature back into the lower 50s.
 
 
What’s interesting about the rainfall for 2013 is that we are only about 5% below normal.  Remember June?  Some areas had over a foot of rain or close to 4 months of water.   The thing about the atmosphere is that it does tend to balance over the longer period.   Averages are made up of extremes and here in New England our weather tends to fluctuate dramatically.    These peaks and valleys of precipitation give us our averages, but more often than not, our weather is wet or dry, cold or hot and not so much between. 
 
 
Thinking about the winter months, it does appear for the next two weeks, these cold shots of air will continue to enter the eastern part of the country, then as we head into the second part of November, I believe the cold will relax somewhat and winter will be slow to settle in across the northeast.   This doesn’t mean we can’t have our first snow, but I don’t see, at this time, a pattern of deep cold and snow that begins in the late part of November or early December.
 
 

Gardening This Week This time of year color is everywhere in the garden and although the foliage is past peak, there are still some great plants to have in the garden. Check out some of my favorite fall plants for great color in this video.

If you want to discuss weather, climate or gardening or even education please find me on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

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