Yes, sorry Sue, C not F. I was actually telling my husband the other day how impressed (and surprised!) I was that everyone on this thread seemed to convert to Celcius, but that I always put C just in case...and then I forgot!

I also shouldn't have opened my big mouth about fires, as there was a fairly major grass fire in one of the 'older' suburbs (not far from where I used to live actually) just after I wrote the other post...2 houses lost, I think 3 more damaged, but luckily no people injured this time.

We also work in C! I was being funny about your numbers, we are currently about 30 but only if you read it as F!

I cannot wait to hear what the old bat from Hong Kong has to say about her trip to England for Christmas, I bet she is using some language which would make a sailor blush! If one listens to the news on the radio, they are saying things like 'the third day of the big freeze'. OK, it might not be cold to many of you, but in England below freezing is cold and to 'Hong Kong Hilda' is is perishing.

I don't know about other parts of Texas, but here in Dallas, this is the second driest year on record. We've received about .2" more than the driest, which was 18.55" in 1956. Third driest is over 20", so we're solidly in second. With only three days left in 2005, and no chance of rain for at least ten, it'll be the second driest.

It was 28C (82F) on Tuesday here, and I'm not used to birthdays that warm!

Lets see, past week, temperature, 23, 24, 24, 23, 23, 26, 24. Bit monotonous really. Wish we had a blizzard or two, we've had enough sunshine to last us a long time.

Oh and yippeee! We had our first drizzle of the year! (last one as well, methinks ?)

Oh and that's in celsius.

She is due back on 1st January, but I don't know if that is leave the UK or arrive back in HK. I have heard from her and she doesn't appreciate the cold, not one little bit. Shame.

Well I'm sure we'll all be hearing all about it when she does get back!

At 12.30am it is 21.3C at the Airport, which means it's probably at least 23 here. Have I mentioned I hate summer? At least when it's cold you can add more layers and blankies and stuff; if I take off any more clothes I'll have to ban myself from posting!

We've got some white stuff falling from the sky again today. Since it's supposed to be up to plus 7 and 8 (celcius) by Monday and Tuesday, it won't last long.
That's the worst part about weather in this part of the world - you get snow, you get slush when it melts, then you get snow again. When the kids were little it was such a challenge keeping them dry.

Don't you just love it when these Aussies gloat?

No snow yet. We are getting ice fogs through the night, so it is very pretty at about 10 am, when the sky clears and turns a deep blue, and every twig and blade of grass is covered with frost. Temps around minus 5 to minus 10, perfectly acceptable.
The snow situation is starting to look like a problem though - we're starting to think the "d" word - drought.

I'm not gloating Sue, I'm suffering!! Okay so it rarely gets cold enough to snow here, and I'm not exactly a big fan of the deep winter months either, but I'll take them over this any day.

It was 34C in our lounge-room a couple of hours ago, and pushing 40 (in the shade, as they say) outside. I'm afraid to look now. As to drought, well, we're not officially in one any more, but it's certainly been a long time since we've seen rain. Today we have high winds, but there is actually a little coolness in them which is wonderful news for the fire-fighters who have been on high alert all weekend. And luckily the winds didn't kick in overnight for all the idiots who were letting off (illegal) fireworks. I think I heard the last ones at about 5.30 this morning, when it was already light (told you they were idiots!)

"Cool" change coming though overnight/tomorrow, Ing. It's only going to be 35*

Well I don't know about the "cool" part Copago (it's still 31C in my lounge-room ), but at least it brought rain. My brother was in Kangaroo Valley (south of Sydney) yesterday and it hit 46.

The fires looked awful, especially in Victoria. We could see the smoke from Junee (I think - it was in the North-East anyway), and even started getting grass ash falling, which I can't say made me feel very comfortable. When I was feeding my brother's dogs a couple of suburbs away, 2 emergency service vehicles - all sirens and lights - went right past the house, then I think turned into the suburb to go up to the grasslands behind me. Again, not comfortable, but still don't know what that one was for, which I can only see as 'good', as it can't have been very big if it hasn't hit the news sources I've been avidly scanning. Probably more trees down, gotta love that wind...

We had a record breaking heat wave this summer and now I know my answer to that old Robert Frost poem.

Ice please.

Two months on and it has happened again! Yep, nasty white stuff is falling out of the sky and my car is out in it! The sky looks full of it, if you know what I mean, really heavy. At first it settled as it was fairly heavy (for us) but now I see that the road is clear so it must be slightly above freezing although apparently the Met Office warned that we could geet drifts and freezing rain later.

How glad am I that it is Saturday and don't need to go out until Monday - and if it is yucky then my gym and Dreamweaver course can go sing for me! One advantage of being unemployed, I can stay in the warm.

Just one thing, my cat. Will he go crossed-legged, will he venture out into the snow or will he use the tray that I have placed between the kitchen door and the door to the garden? He is seventeen and isn't used to a tray, nor is he used to snow!

I don't have nasty white stuff, but I do have rain falling (last measurable rain before Sunday was Dec. 20). We tallied 0.65" last Sunday, but are still about 25" behind. One area lake is almost completely dried up!

It is very good luck if it rains at Chinese New Year, and it did, this morning! So Kung Hei Fa Choy to all!

Delighted to report that all traces of white stuff have gone although the sky is still very grey and heavy looking.

Kung Hei Fa Choy to you too, even if it does sound like a brand of soy sauce!

Well, as I've remarked before, this has been the warmest, driest winter that many of us here can remember. However, we got a taste today of what February is SUPPOSED to be like on the Canadian prairies. The temperature this morning was minus 31 C, with winds of about 30 - 40 km/hr. The dog got a VERY short walk, today!

That temperature really exists? No thank you. I would stick the dog on a treadmill.

The temperature is not really the problem - it's possible to dress for it. The touble is the wind. Even a fairly light wind can be bad when the temp is so low, and a strong wind can be deadly. Exposed skin will freeze in minutes, or even seconds, if the wind is blowing and the temp is low enough.
My husband is working in northern Alberta just now, where the temps are usually about 5 - 10 degrees lower than here. He says that the last couple of days have been murder - not too bad when working in a sheltered area (forested) but if the wellsite is exposed to the wind, yikes! And they are out there for long periods of time - lots of quick trips to the truck or the shack to warm up, I think!

A few lines of latitude lower...here in Austin, I think the temperature got up to...um...you-better-wear-shorts-weather!