By Donnie Johnston, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
Everybody is waiting for cooler weather.
Usually, around the first week in September, a cold front pushes down from Canada and our temperatures drop. And for maybe a week or so, the afternoon highs rise only to the upper 60s or lower 70s with lows in the lower 50s.
That didn’t happen this year. September began with a heatwave and high temperature around 95. Things have cooled somewhat this week, but we’re still well into the 80s with that first hint of fall, according to forecasters, at least a week away.
Folks are tired of the heat and are ready to move on. Warm afternoons, cool nights and low humidity with the changing color of leaves turning every venue into a picturesque New England autumn delight. That’s what we want.
Don’t worry. It will get here eventually, as will the cold, snow and ice. Then, we’ll all be fondly remembering these 80-degree days and waiting impatiently for the heat of next summer.
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the long-range winter weather forecasts are popping up everywhere, and almost every one I have seen predicts above average or much above average snowfall for the Virginia Piedmont.
These forecasts are based in great part on the super El Niño that is building in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Yes, this phenomenon usually means more precipitation for the Mid-Atlantic region, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into more snow. After all, you need more than just moisture for snow. You need cold air.
And you need cold air at the right time, in the right place and at the right levels of the atmosphere. If the cold air is a little too far west, you get a cold rain. If cold and warm air mix at different levels of the atmosphere you get sleet or freezing rain. For snow, all the ingredients must come together just right.
In our area, being so close to the influences of the Atlantic Ocean, every winter storm is a crapshoot and even the best computers often get the forecast wrong.
That said, I would not count on blizzard after blizzard this winter. More often than not, a strong El Niño leads to a warmer than average winter, which is what I am predicting. Sorry, snow lovers. Less than a foot of snow all winter. Maybe none at all. That’s how I see it.
Of course, I could be wrong, and I hope I am. But I don’t think so.
We are sure getting the moisture now. I recorded exactly 10 inches of rain in August, and September has started off wet. I can’t keep up with the grass. I have mowed five times in just under three weeks With gas at $4 a gallon, this weather is sending me to the poorhouse. I’m tired of mowing. Droughts are much cheaper.
I’m picking up a few walnuts from one of my four trees. The other three don’t have a single nut. That April freeze that nailed the apple crop also got most of my walnuts. But they likely wouldn’t have produced well anyway because I had a bumper crop last fall. And I have enough in the freezer to last another year.
I haven’t seen many wasps this year. Usually, the barn and every shed has two or three nests, but I have seen only a couple of small ones this summer. I have a friend that had a problem with yellow jackets, and I found one big nest near my tractor battery. But for the most part, wasps have been missing in action.
And I have not seen a honeybee all summer. That is not good for pollination.
Baseball season is coming to an end with Washington and my New York Mets fighting for last place in the National League East Division. The Mets spent tons of money and got no results. The Nats spent no money and got no results. Is there a lesson here?
Now we turn our attention to football.
If the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins plays as well during the regular season as they did in the preseason, well…
Too often Washington fans are saying “just wait until next year” by Thanksgiving Day. They might be crying “Uncle” by Halloween this season. But time will tell.
Opening with Philadelphia and Dallas should provide some insight into the coming season.
Oh, and the first NFL game is tonight
Finally, all the Halloween decorations and candy are already on display in department stores.
Not that we push the seasons.
