Have you been adding extra layers to your outfits in the past few weeks? Maybe you have been slowly punching up that number on the thermostat. In my case I have been allowing every animal in my house to join me in bed and snuggle on these longer colder nights.
Yes it’s that time of year — and this is not out of the ordinary in case you were wondering.
We just passed the fall equinox a couple of weeks ago, and since then we have been losing multiple minutes of daylight every single day. The sun is setting earlier and we are feeling the impact of what a longer night means: colder temperatures. Along with colder temperatures comes the threat for frost and a hard freeze. As temperatures drop below 32 degrees, we become vulnerable to patchy frost and when those numbers go into the 20s, it means a hard freeze.
Frost and freeze means the end of the growing season. Although we can preserve some of our plants by bringing them inside or covering them on these colder nights, generally speaking the growing season ends, and we begin to see that impact in our backyards as well as the colors fading from the trees. This weekend will feature some of the best fall foliage colors in the state across the highest elevations before passing the peak and allowing trees to become bare.
If these cooler temperatures seem a little too rushed for your liking, not to worry. Looking ahead in the extended 7- to 10-day outlook we see a slight warming trend pulling daytime high temperatures back up into the upper 60s and the overnight lows back into the 40s and away from the freezing mark.
So one thing I can tell you about the weeks ahead, they are changeable. You may find yourself turning on and off the heat, bringing the coat in and out of the closet, or in my case putting the animals on and off the bed. Be ready for anything because that it quite normal for this time of year.