Last summer was quite cool in our part of the country.  If the long-range weather outlook is correct, we could be looking at another stretch of cooler-than-normal temperature.  As we all know, day-to-day weather forecasting is less accurate the farther out you go.  In other words, a forecast for a week from today is much less accurate than the forecast for tomorrow.  Also, the factors that influence our long-range weather are different than the factors in the short-term weather.  When considering the weather patterns over a span of several months, we need to consider things like sea-surface temperature and ground moisture. 

Here’s a link to the seasonal forecast discussion from the folks at the Climate Prediction Center…

Here are the temperature and precipitation outlooks for June, July and August…

Summer temperature outlook

Summer precipitation outlook

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A big “Thank you” to the students in Mr. Sammons’ class in Aplington.  I’ve been privileged to visit with Mr. Sammons’ students for more than 5 years now…and I look forward to talking with his class each year.  We looked at pictures of clouds, talked about how the seasons change and about all the different kinds of weather that Iowa gets each year.  Congratulations to Mr. Sammons, too!  He told me that he gets to travel to Springfield, Illinois this summer and spend about a week learning more about Abraham Lincoln.  Only one teacher from each state gets to go on this trip…and he is the guy from Iowa!  Aplington is lucky to have Mr. Sammons as a teacher.

Aplington Elementary and Middle School

Jeff at school

Jeff with the Aplington students

Click here to see the Aplington kids saying hello!

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Turkey Valley Community School is in Jackson Junction.  I got to visit with Ms. Vsetecka’s class on May 12.  We talked about severe storms and tornadoes, about the different kids of weather that affect Iowa during the different times of the year and about how the Sun is the 800 pound gorilla when it comes to our weather.  The students have been studying clouds…and so we lo0ked at the different kinds of clouds and learned about a few hard-to-pronounce cloud names.  A good group of listneners with lots of good questions, too!

How about those Trojans!?!

Turkey Valley Community School

Click here to see the Turkey Valley Students saying hello!

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When you visit Dysart you’ll find excellent schools, a wonderful Main Street with a terrific collection of shops and stores, and lots of friendly people.  Great food, too!  You might meet up with the Blue Hat Ladies while you are in town.  Cathy, Claudette, Jackie, Ann and Pat make up the Blue Hat Ladies…a group of women that is very enthusiastic about their town.  When busloads of visitors come to Dysart, the Blue Hat Ladies make them feel welcome by being tour guides and providing useful information.  Come see us soon in Dysart!

Dysart welcomes you!

Claudette Gumbert, one of the Blue Hat Ladies

The Blue Hat Ladies of Dysart

Model of the new museum that will be built in town

Here’s a link to the Dysart web site…http://www.dysartiowa.com/

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I have a new respect for those folks that maintain our roads!  Winter time, they are out there in the cold, plowing snow.  Spring time, they are out there in all kinds of weather.  Summer brings the heat, of course, and then comes the autumn with cooler days and chilly nights.  Mr. Wayne Even took time from his busy day to give me a look into his job. Wayne has been driving a road grader for about 15 years.  He took us out to some of Black Hawk County’s gravel roads and showed us how he keeps them in good shape.  The grader is a complicated machine with lots of power.  It wouldn’t take long for someone like me to make a mess, but a pro like Wayne makes it look easy.  It’s not easy.  I got to try my hand at driving and running the grader (Wayne was right there in the cab with me, so I didn’t worry too much about getting into trouble) and I managed to level out about two miles of road.  There are lots of levers to pull, lots of buttons to push, lots of ways to do it wrong.  I’m glad I had Wayne as my teacher.  Without a doubt, driving a road grader is one of Eastern Iowa’s Toughest Jobs!

One of the Black Hawk County road graders

The "office" where Wayne works

Rookie grader driver (nice vest, though!)

Mr. Wayne Even, grader driver extraordinaire

Wayne showing Jeff how it is done

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The Three Chilly Saints!

Growing up in Northern Wisconsin, my mom would NEVER plant the garden until after the “Icemen Days” had come and gone.  Folks used to keep track of the calendar by remembering which Saint’s Day it was.  For example, May 11, 12 and 13 are Saint Mamertus (or Mammertius), Saint Pancrus (or Pancratius) and Saint Servatius (or Gervatius) days.  The Farmer’s Almanac refers to these guys as the “Three Chilly Saints”…and folklore has it that during the “Feast of the Three Icemen”, the weather will be unusually cold.  One saying has it that “Saint Servatius will not pass without a frost”.  Also, “He who shears his sheep before Saint Servatius loves his wool more than his sheep”.    Some years we manage to get through the “Icemen Days” without too much trouble…other years (like 2010, for example!) we are dealing with another cool snap!

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Thanks to the teachers and students at North Winn.  I got to visit with the sixth graders on Monday, May 3.  We learned about how the Sun is the “engine” that runs our weather…and about how the climate changes based on what the Sun does.  We also talked about severe storms and tornadoes…the different seasons and the big changes in our weather from one season to another.  A good group of listeners…and they asked lots of good questions!

North Winneshiek Community School

Click here to see the N Winn kids saying hello!

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