My garden is doing well overall. Tomatoes are getting bigger, not quite ready for picking just yet since there are no red ones, but at least the green ones are getting there. Come on fried green tomatoes! The yellow squash and zucchini plants are cranking out the produce. I have to dice several today and prepare them for the freezer. We've already enjoyed fried squash and zucchini using Panko Bread crumbs, and last night, we had sautéed squash and zucchini in olive oil and Italian seasonings along with grated parmesan cheese as a complement to our sub sandwiches. The chili peppers are medium hot, not too bad. But, I'm awaiting the habanero produce so that I can get out my dip recipe and enjoy some real heat.
Speaking of heat, wow, the deserts of the southwestern United States have had some high heat already this summer.
Death Valley CA has hit 127 degrees twice this season. Las Vegas NV recorded a record high of 117 degrees on June 20 and as of yesterday has reached at least 100 degrees every day since June 15. Needles CA had an average temperature of 109 degrees on the 25th. Yes, a high of 123 and a low of 94. In fact the average temperature (high temp + low temp then divide by 2) of 100 degrees or higher occurred during a stretch from the 17th through the 27th. And this was just June. We still have July and August.
Looking at July, I found this eye-opening graph of normally expected precipitation for the contiguous United States during the month....
Check out the white areas of central California. Yes, during the 30 years of 1981-2010, the average precipitation for this region was absolutely zero inches, or it could have been a trace but not enough to measure.
Now, I want to take a moment to update you on how active this severe weather year has been, especially regarding tornadoes per the chart below. It is still trending above normal, but has definitely slowed down recently. With the loss of La Nina, tornado reports should remain on cruise control from here.
What does that mean going forward? I'm projecting a similar total compared to 2010's 3rd ranked most active tornado year during the 2005-2015 chart above. Yes, it looks like an above normal year. Hopefully, and more importantly, let's hope the killer tornadoes are done for the year. The 34 deaths from this year are just 2 shy of 2015's 36 deaths.
One final reminder. We are getting into the heart of boating season. Pay attention to the weather. Getting caught out in the water during a thunderstorm is not smart.
MS
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