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naturenut_pa

what rain?

naturenut_pa
18 years ago

looking at the radar, it appears that it has rained all around us...to the north, the south, the east and the west. i've heard stories of downpours in the region that lasted quite some time. here in upper bucks, though, it remains bone dry. my ponds completely dried up, and i was hoping for just a tiny bit of rain to keep the pond plants alive. (i've already given up hope for the gardens)

this is soooo frustrating :-(

Comments (39)

  • Lisa_Michelle
    18 years ago

    I definitely feel your frustration- that seemed to happen to us here the entire month of August. We did manage to get some rain here in eastern Chester County- a few downpours since yesterday. I'm extremely happy with any rain we get, but so far it's only a fraction of what we really need.
    Let's hope that Ophelia brings everyone a little bit of relief!

  • Pipersville_Carol
    18 years ago

    No drenching downpours here in Central Bucks either. I'm so disappointed.

    Last night I woke up thinking I heard rain outside. I thought "aah, it's finally here", and then realized it was the sound of the fan in my bedroom, not rain. Bummer.

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    18 years ago

    Trust me, you didn't miss anything. We got some rain last night, I was all excited until I went out this morning and saw that the dirt wasn't even damp. I was out watering again this evening.
    We need more than just a shower. Any rain now is just enough to keep stuff alive for a few more days. I hope we have a normal fall!

    I noticed trees dropping their leaves already. Some of the mountainsides are spotted with dying red maples, I guess the oaks can handle drought a little better.

  • stimpy926
    18 years ago

    We got lucky! Wednesday night's downpour registered and inch and a half on my gauge. Everything's soaked. Time for weeding. I'm siphoning the rain water off the pool cover to water the shrubs nearby.

  • naturenut_pa
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    NOAA website National Weather Service for my zip code says showers likely. i'll believe that when i see it.

    trying to maintain a more positive outlook, i haven't had to mow what's left of the lawn in almost 6 weeks now.

    :-P

  • chescobob
    18 years ago

    We received about an inch in a heavy downpour on Wednesday afternoon. The storm seemed to have come from east of Baltimore and, when it reached PA, followed Route 10 into Berks County.

    It had been dry for about 3 weeks or so.

  • lynn_d
    18 years ago

    The rain missed us here in Cambria County as well. We got a couple of drips and drizzles but that is it. We've been so dry, and we are needing rain. Here in Johnstown, praying for rain....who'd a thunk it?

  • Lisa_Michelle
    18 years ago

    At this point, it's hard not to feel a wee bit obsessed about it.........

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    18 years ago

    Bingo!

    We got a nice downpour on Saturday, the rain even penetrated under most of the trees..... now I'm wondering how well it soaked in. I've been watering some of th lawn, it looks like the soil was able to soak up water a little better, but next door I was watching the rain run off the neighbor's bone dry slope.
    I won't comlain though, everything looks ten times better than it did on Friday.
    K

  • geoforce
    18 years ago

    I got a total of 1.4" spread over the 2 nights and day between. Surely needed it, as we had had none for over 3 weeks. Ground was so dry, however, that it is only a drop in the buckets, and the plants still look wilty in the afternoons.

    George

  • Lisa_Michelle
    18 years ago

    The rain was definitely a relief, but already today the viburnums I planted two weeks ago are getting droopy again and will have to be watered tomorrow. Time to drag out the hose already :-(
    I've no doubt that we will get PLENTY of rain in October when the carpenters can finally come to replace some rotted windowsills on our house and the painter comes to paint them........

  • naturenut_pa
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Lisa, I think you're on to something. There is a 50% chance of rain today and I'm wondering what we can do to increase our chances.

    Let's all wash our windows. If that doesn't work, we can all hang laundry out. I think I'll go out and leave my car windows open. Too bad I don't have a convertible.
    Hmmm...maybe I'll go as far as spreading a tablecloth on the back lawn and putting a basket in the middle as if somebody is having a picnic.

    Did I miss anything?

  • bulbs
    18 years ago

    How about your umbrella? Can you leave it in you car with the windows down??

  • corgilvr
    18 years ago

    I've contributed by putting a sweater out to dry.

  • naturenut_pa
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    well, i hope you're all ready for some heavy downpours. i'm not playing around anymore. tonight i'm gonna bag some leaves, drag them up the ladder, and fill my gutters.

  • Pipersville_Carol
    18 years ago

    I left the garage windows open while I was away on a short vacation, thinking that'd cause downpours for sure. No luck!

  • Pipersville_Carol
    18 years ago

    I just heard it's actually raining at home. A miracle.

    My garden is completely crispy. On Saturday morning I stumbled awake at 6:30 am to let a dog out, and saw that the beautiful tree hydrangea by the back door was suddenly wilted and dead-looking, even though I'd been trying to keep it watered. The sight woke me up completely, I immediately hauled the hose over and started spraying/watering it. The leaves didn't start rehydrating until 2 pm in the afternoon, after 8 hours of watering (at a trickle, of course)

  • witsend22
    18 years ago

    rain beautiful rain finally, too bad it was just one day but there is a chance in the forcast for thursday again

  • naturenut_pa
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    *sigh*
    the digital rain gauge says we got about .04 inches of rain. well, i guess that's .04 better than nothing.

    i have lost so much in the past 2 weeks, even plants that prefer dry soil. hopefully the cooler weather and yesterday's sprinkling will keep the rest alive for a little bit longer.

  • Pipersville_Carol
    18 years ago

    We got rain last night, but it was nowhere near the 1" they were predicting. And of course today is windy, drying the leaves out even more.

    Naturenut, where did you get a digital raingauge? Sounds cool!

  • naturenut_pa
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    hi carol,
    i don't remember where we got the gauge from. i'm thinking circuit city, best buy or maybe even home depot. we didn't pay the list price from the manufacturer. here is a link to the model, if you're interested.

    very dark and windy today. but we've all seen that before in the past few weeks without rain, so i've got my fingers crossed just in case.

    Here is a link that might be useful: http://www2.oregonscientific.com/catalog/product.asp?cid=2&scid=7&pid=411

  • earline_pa zone 6 Pa.
    18 years ago

    Naturenut
    A big thank you for the info on the rain gauge. I just ordered one for my betterhalf for his BD (and an in/outdoor thermometer with hydrometor)
    I had no idea what to get him before this ;))

  • stimpy926
    18 years ago

    3 hurricanes later, and you'd think we'd be saturated, BLAST! North, south, east, and west of us , but not much for the Phila and suburbs region. Anyone know what's blocking or causing systems to just fall apart over here? Jenny's usually on top of those things... Jenny?

  • chescobob
    18 years ago

    I'm planting grass and wet the ground before I put seed down. The ground just sucks up the moisture immediately and goes dry again. We had an hour-long shower yesterday morning. A few hours after it, you could not tell in rained. The ground was still dust dry.

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    18 years ago

    Paula - I think the weather folks have been as puzzled as ourselves with this year's weather, but in general, the Appalachians do alot of blocking of systems that come out of the west. So for those of us on the east side of the moutains, we get our more substantial rains when Nor'easters come up the coast and throw all that ocean moisture our way.

    The one distinct difference about this year and last with respect to the hurricanes, is that previously in the recent past, quite a few of these tropical systems stayed out in the Atlantic and tended to aim for and hit the east coast directly - particularly the Carolinas. Alot of the flooding that was seen along the Gulf coast has happened in the Carolinas too - although in the latter case, the hurricanes were nowhere near as intense. In that instance, we would get rain from those remnants coming up from the SE.

    This year, not counting Ophelia, the cyclones seemed to congregate more in the Gulf of Mexico, making landfall down there and tracking more westerly, and the general west -> east movement of those storms and remnants were disrupted by those mountains and the dips in the jetstream. I remember seeing a massive band of rain over on the western side of the state from Rita, but we didn't get very much from that and even less from the remnants of Katrina.

    There was some on and off rain here in the city yesterday when the Cold front came through, but it wasn't that much - barely enough to moisten the ground a bit. I know that there is concern and clarion calls about drought in PA in general. I know that the entire state of NJ declared a drought emergency at the beginning of this month. The PA Drought Information Center hasn't updated the site recently. I think the only thing that had held us for this long was the above normal rainfall this past spring. Sometimes we can be saved by a sloppy Nor'easter in October. ;-)

  • Pipersville_Carol
    18 years ago

    That's the kewlest rain gauge I've ever seen, I'm on the list to get one as soon as they become available.

  • stimpy926
    18 years ago

    Thanks Jenny, plus the old 'you need rain to get rain'. sigh

  • naturenut_pa
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    well, i'm glad that everybody likes the rain gauge! admittedly, i did NOT buy it, my OH bought it, and i wasn't too happy ("Another rain gauge???") but, i'll admit, we've had this one for two years now, which has lasted much longer than any of the others we've had.

  • stimpy926
    18 years ago

    Well now the picture is clearer. I learned there is a stubborn high parked (centered) over the southeast. The weather channel animated it this morning, showing systems bumping off it, including the 3 hurricanes. Until it subsides, or moves off, it is pumping north the heat from the Gulf. At least a few weathercasters on the major TV channels are mentioning the lack of rainfall now. Voluntary restrictions in Chester County for the moment.

  • earline_pa zone 6 Pa.
    18 years ago

    FedEx is delivering my dh bd gift today ;))
    There is also ALOT of neat items on this site pertaining to weather.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Weather stuff

  • stimpy926
    18 years ago

    Wahoooooo! I'm keeping my fingers crossed! From Weather.com:

    Severe Weather Alert


    Special Weather Statement from the National Weather Service:

    NEW CASTLE-KENT-INLAND SUSSEX-DELAWARE BEACHES-CECIL-QUEEN ANNE'S- TALBOT-CAROLINE-SUSSEX-WARREN-MORRIS-HUNTERDON-SOMERSET-MIDDLESEX- WESTERN MONMOUTH-EASTERN MONMOUTH-MERCER-SALEM-GLOUCESTER-CAMDEN- NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON-OCEAN-CUMBERLAND-ATLANTIC-CAPE MAY- ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY-COASTAL ATLANTIC-COASTAL OCEAN- SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON-CARBON-MONROE-BERKS-LEHIGH-NORTHAMPTON- CHESTER-MONTGOMERY-BUCKS-DELAWARE-PHILADELPHIA- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WILMINGTON...DOVER...GEORGETOWN... REHOBOTH BEACH...ELKTON...CHESTERTOWN...CENTREVILLE...EASTON... DENTON...NEWTON...WASHINGTON...MORRISTOWN...FLEMINGTON... SOMERVILLE...NEW BRUNSWICK...FREEHOLD...SANDY HOOK...TRENTON... PENNSVILLE...GLASSBORO...CAMDEN...CHERRY HILL...MOORESTOWN... MOUNT HOLLY...JACKSON...MILLVILLE...HAMMONTON... CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE...OCEAN CITY...ATLANTIC CITY... LONG BEACH ISLAND...WHARTON STATE FOREST...JIM THORPE... STROUDSBURG...READING...ALLENTOWN...BETHLEHEM...WEST CHESTER... NORRISTOWN...DOYLESTOWN...MEDIA 430 AM EDT THU OCT 6 2005
    ...HEAVY SHOWERS MAY AFFECT THE AREA LATER FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY...

    A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE COAST FROM THE WEST DURING FRIDAY. AT THE SAME TIME, THE REMNANTS OF TAMMY WILL HEAD UP THE EAST COAST. THE INTERACTION OF THESE TWO WEATHER-MAKING SYSTEMS OVER THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS AND THE NORTHERN MID ATLANTIC REGION WILL LEAD TO AN INCREASING CHANCE OF SHOWERS DURING FRIDAY, AND POSSIBLY HEAVY RAIN AT TIMES FRIDAY NIGHT. COMPUTER MODELS IN WHICH MORE CONFIDENCE IS PLACED TAKE THE MERGED SYSTEMS GRADUALLY EAST OF OUR AREA DURING SATURDAY. HOWEVER, LOW PRESSURE WILL REMAIN IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE OVER THE EAST COAST INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK, MEANING THAT CONDITIONS MAY BE UNSETTLED SUNDAY INTO TUESDAY.

    IF WE DO EXPERIENCE HEAVY RAINFALL, THE FAVORED TIME IS LATE FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT, AND POSSIBLY INTO EARLY SATURDAY. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER, WITH THE TENDENCY FOR TROPICAL RAIN SYSTEMS TO PRODUCE GENEROUS RAINFALL AMOUNTS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE EVOLUTION OF THIS STORM TO TRY TO DETERMINE IF EVEN GREATER RAINFALL THAN WHAT IS CURRENTLY EXPECTED WILL OCCUR. HOWEVER, SINCE OUR AREA HAS BEEN QUITE DRY LATELY, LARGE-SCALE FLOODING IS NOT ANTICIPATED, AND THE LARGER RIVERS ARE LIKELY TO SEE ONLY MINOR RISES. IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT WE WILL SEE NUISANCE TYPE FLOODING OF ROADS, URBAN AREAS, POOR-DRAINAGE LOCATIONS, AND THE SMALLER AND QUICKER RESPONDING STREAMS.


  • naturenut_pa
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    nooooo! it's the weekend, it can't rain. why does it always rain on the weekends? i wish it would just go away!

    LOL
    just kidding!

  • Pipersville_Carol
    18 years ago

    Hah, LOL.

    I woke up expecting to see a drenched landscape, as they'd predicted "heavy rain" starting at midnight last night. Of course, it was dry as a bone. But weather.com says the rain will start this evening and last throughout the night.

    If we get heavy rain tonight, I'm going to go stand outside in my bare feet and get wet. And if it rains all night, I'm going to spend tomorrow morning WEEDING.

  • corgilvr
    18 years ago

    It's here, it's here! I awakened, in Carlisle, to the unfamiliar sound of rain hitting the tin roof. I quickly dressed and took one of the dogs for a run hitting every puddle as we went. We did clear storm drains of leaves on our return trip, but the puddles were great fun to slosh through. It's still raining here and smells so good.

  • blueheron
    18 years ago

    Oh blessed rain! It rained all day today and supposed to rain tomorrow morning. Keep it coming!

  • earline_pa zone 6 Pa.
    18 years ago

    I HAD to give dh his bd present early. It has recorded 11 inches of rain and more to come!!!
    Lots of roads closed in my area. I am along the Schuykill River.
    I need to get pulling WEEDS!!!

  • elongrad97
    18 years ago

    Corgilvr...don't the Corgis seem to seek out the messiest puddle they can find? My Pem is better these days, but my Cardi pup is all about aiming for the muddiest spot on our walks!

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    18 years ago

    Just read a comment from NOAA's local office in Mt. Holly that announced that Philly has now had its "Wettest October" on record as of Oct. 13, with an official total of 6.89" of rain so far (I'm assuming based on what occurred at the airport). This breaks the previous 1902 record of 6.66" and comes after having the "2nd Driest September" on record.

    I also understand that parts of Jersey have had 18" of rain so far this week. The extremes this year have been something else. :-(

  • Pipersville_Carol
    18 years ago

    Everyone I know is complaining about the rain.. but I LOVE it.

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