{"id":13423,"date":"2021-10-15T14:23:10","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T21:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/?p=13423"},"modified":"2021-10-15T14:23:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T21:23:13","slug":"summer-2021-weather-wrap-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/summer-2021-weather-wrap-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer 2021 weather wrap-up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been so hot this summer,\u201d said a friend a few weeks ago, at the end of summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why would she say that? I thought. \u201cHas it?\u201d I asked. \u201cI record the temperatures almost every day and I was just comparing this summer to last summer. Do you know how many days over 100 we had last summer? Twenty five. Do you know how many days over 100 we had this summer? Two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Occasionally I miss a day, but I really do record the high and low temperatures from my yard\u2019s weather station almost every evening before going to bed. It\u2019s part of my routine, along with reading the weather forecast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of my recording habit, I end up with a fairly complete and handy past-weather reference. And since I\u2019ve been doing this consistently since 2015 I can compare summers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This summer, 2021, was the coolest summer I\u2019ve experienced \u201csince records started being kept.\u201d The highest temperature reached in my yard in 2021 was 102. Last summer, we reached 115. In 2019, we reached 103. In 2018, we reached 117. In 2017, we reached 109. In 2016, we reached 109. In 2015, we topped out at 105.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normally, we use our air conditioning for a total of one to two weeks each summer, during extended hot spells. This summer we didn\u2019t turn on our AC once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, the fruit of certain trees in our yard gets sunburned, especially apricots and Pink Lady apples. None this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Pink Lady apples. October 14, 2021.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A few tomatoes and peppers still got burned, but they scald at lower thresholds. It doesn\u2019t need to be much over 90 for large peppers that don\u2019t have leaf coverage to develop sun scald spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The avocados came through this summer happily. There was no sun or heat damage to even the smallest of my trees except one that is planted next to a large, light-colored boulder, which seems to intensify the sun and heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m grateful for the mild weather of the summer of 2021, overall. There were a couple thunderstorms in Southern California in the late summer though, as you know. One stomped through my neighborhood on August 29 and dropped hail and blew angry winds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n