Pacific NW winter to be strongly influenced by La Nada weather phenomenon...

[WheelWalker]

Forecasters expect abnormally normal winter...

[link:http://www.registerguard.com/web/news/cityregion/29145123-41/winter-snow-normal-weather-cold.html.csp|

[PDJane]

1. It's not normal here; we have somewhat warmer than average temps and rain,

rain, and more damn rain right now.

[DonRedwood]

2. Our friend's house in portland had roses blooming and an iris in FULL bloom on Thanksgiving

WTF?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. I've had a few out of season blooms too. seems to be a reaction to the drought

this summer. plus it's still a little warmer than usual and here at 400ft I haven't seen a frost yet, let alone a freeze.

[AgingAmerican]

6. I am still seeing flying insects outside

Not normal for December. I saw a humming bird outside my window a few days ago. Odd.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. No frost here at 700 ft either.

Which is fine by me. Rain I can live with, snow, ice, not so much.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

12. I want my apple trees to produce next year.

we need cooler temps

[WheelWalker]

15. I had monster apples this year. The Fujis were the size of grapefruit.

I think it was the wet, wet June we had here in Douglas County. Or maybe the dry, dry July, August & September. Or maybe the location next to the grow cage, lol.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

16. so did I! okay, now that's weird

this is the fourth year for this tree, and I got a bushel off it, not quite grapefruit size but huge. also had water core in some, so I figured it tapped into a spring, cause it was dry here in pdx.
It's some kind of pippen, crisp but sweet. the yellow and red delicious limped along as usual, they were bad choices altogether.

[WheelWalker]

20. I was just speculating that increased atmospheric CO2 might be affecting fruit size,

and found this fascinating article...

http://www.virtualorchard.net/idfta/cft/2000/july/cftjuly2000p82.pdf.

This grasshopper has much study ahead in the realm of orchard management.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

21. that's above my pay grade

I just have 3 trees that don't get much attention but a few hours in the spring and fall.

[WheelWalker]

22. I've only a half dozen various fruit trees myself, but I was a Future Farmer in my youth and

still a frustrated scientist I guess. As I tell my grandson, "plants are people, too".

[pscot]

3. We do tend to get dumped on

in ENSO neutral years, but the climate is so screwed up, I don't think anyone knows what to expect anymore.

[WheelWalker]

11. Indeed. The (perhaps) unintended truth of the article is that "normal" will hereafter be "abnormal"

[AgingAmerican]

5. There is nothing normal about our weather this year

It has been bizarre, more like spring weather.

Our winter weather used to be dull, gray and predictable. Months of light sprinkling rain and a dull even gray sky. In the Spring our weather has always been more interesting. Sun, clouds and heavier rain and a bit of wind. This year it's black boiling clouds and heavy rains mixed and wind with blotches of blue sky and warmth. My wife was commenting on Friday how "weird the clouds look lately".

This is not normal.

[pinboy3niner]

8. Does this remind anyone else of Carlin's Hippy Dippy Weatherman?

[WheelWalker]

10. You nailed it. I love G. Carlin

[pinboy3niner]

13. I posted one of his original HDW sketches in another weather thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1951795

"La Nada" sounds like something he could have come up with. "¿Qué Pasaaaaaa...?"

[ismnotwasm]

9. That's funny

'Abnormally normal' -----as opposed to the snow we enjoyed (kidding) on thanksgiving last year I suppose.

It does seem as though some birds haven't taken off yet, It could just be my imagination I suppose.

[slackmaster]

14. When will people wake up to the reality of climate change?

[Wounded Bear]

17. "La nada?" Never heard of that one...

Heard of El Nino and La Nina, but not la nada.

Doesn't that mean "the nothing?"

[WheelWalker]

18. They made it up to describe an abnormally normal year with

neither El Nino or La Nina influences. It's the Middle Way (not to be confused with the Third Way, lol)

[LWolf]

19. It has definitely been abnormally warm.

Rain when we would have had snow, and the spring weeds have already sprouted. There have been a few good frosts, and it's been cooling down a bit in the last couple of days; we'll see how the winter plays out.