Another heat wave

Image courtesy of weatherzone.com.au

It's been pretty hot in Armidale this week! Today was the height of the heat with 34 degrees Celsius (roughly 93 Fahrenheit). Naturally, it's not just here--it's hot all over Australia (sans Tasmania of course.) We're usually pretty lucky up here in the Northern Tablelands and get to avoid most of the hot weather (and even when it's hot during the day, a hot night is pretty uncommon. Three cheers for an arid climate!) I'm also very glad we're not in Port Hedland. (41C = ~105F. Too hot!) Or on the coast, where it would also be humid.

While 34 is not actually that hot in the grand scheme of things (especially in this dry area without any humidity), people in Armidale do find it a bit unusual. Out and about running some errands this morning, I overheard more conversations about this hot weather than what I would expect from the usual 'talkin' bout the weather' small talk.

Image courtesy of weatherzone.com.au

We've had pretty bad luck with market Sundays weather this entire summer. So of course, this weekend (as there is a market) is no different. Although it's not necessarily a poor forecast, Sunday doesn't look like quite as nice a day as we would like. (Maybe not quite like today but we'd like it to be hot!) The forecast predicts an all-day high of below 80F with 50% chance of rain, but hopefully it won't rain until the afternoon.

One thing for sure: one of the nice things about hot, sunny weather is that the laundry outside sure dries pretty quickly! The sun is incredibly intense. It was one of those summer days where I felt like I was going to get a sunburn just from hanging up the wash. (I did not.) But one sure can accumulate a tan just from doing laundry!

Even though some of the leaves are turning, yup, it's still summer here.

Still green: our pistachio tree holds onto summer longer than the rest
in our neighborhood.