After some light rain last night our Sunday is turning out to be a wonderful late October day.  This is of course the last Sunday in October and as such, the last Sunday of daylight saving time 2013.  Next Sunday, it will be dark by 5PM, a sign that winter is closing in rapidly.
Although the light will be shrinking further this week, temperatures will actually be rising.  I am quite confident in a pair of 60 degree days at the end of the week as a southerly flow of air ensues.
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.

Temperatures today will be in the lower 50s and without much wind, it will be a great day to get outside, rake some leaves, plant bulbs or watch your kids in a soccer or football game.

To the west, in St. Louis, sunshine is also the rule with highs in the lower 60s.  This will be a great night for baseball with temperatures falling through the 50s during the game.  I am hoping the Sox tie the series tonight after last night’s bizarre ending to a game.   In spite of over a century of baseball behind us, it’s amazing that a game can still end so unpredictably.
 
I still don’t see much, if any rain until possibly late Thursday and into next weekend.  My thinking is we are dry for Halloween, but late that night or on Friday showers move through.  As I wrote, it’s going to be warm.  I think many of the kids will be able to wear their costumes without heavy coats.  That is certainly a great treat to have this time of the year.

The rain I am expecting for the first day of November will come as a storm moves slowly by the region.  The exact track, strength and speed of the storm will determine how much rain we ultimately receive. It doesn’t look like a major November gale and any rain is welcome.

After this storm moves by, another flood of colder air will push through the region.  This will occur sometime around November 4th or 5th.

 

Below is a chart of temperature trends the next 10 days based on one computer model.  This gives a general idea of what I am basing my forecast on and how the weather looks graphically as we close out October and welcome the 11th month.

November is one of the cloudier and wetter months of the year as the jet stream, the river of air at 30,000 feet that moves storms, pushes further south out of Canada. Storms love to travel along the jet stream, so when the position of this flow is close to New England, we tend to see cloudier and damper weather.  The jet stream has an average position each month of the year and it so happens November’s average jet stream is often very close to Maine.

We don’t know exactly how the jet will be this November, but if the past is any indication, the dry and sunny weather we have had in October will not be as prevalent next month.

Finally, I want to thank the Maine Press Association for honoring me with an award this year.  You can read about my award as well as the others many of the folks at the Press Herald and Telegram received by clicking here.  I also want to thank you for reading my blog, sending me your questions and following me @growingwisdom on Twitter.  It’s exciting for this Mainer to get an award and to be able to tell you the weather.  Please keep supporting me and sending me your comments and suggestions for how to make this an even better blog.
 

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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