Oracle weather and gardening

Spring Bloom in Oracle - March 23, 2013

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 22:05:00 GMT

It's that time of year when the sierra and white oak trees drop their leaves to get ready for new growth; the winds are blowing them everywhere. It's interesting that these trees annually drop them in Spring instead of in Fall, and that they all don't drop at once but rather turn yellow and drop a little at a time while new leaves start. The trees are never bare like they get in New England. Later, the pollen will appear on them, and that's when we will see tons of...
Read More

March 8 2013 Hail and Thunder in Oracle AZ

Sat, 9 Mar 2013 01:12:00 GMT

Forecasts were for rain, hail and thunder. Sure enough, before noon, Oracle received a good amount of hail, from pea-sized to small marbles, pouring down to cover everything as if it was a blanket of snow. The storms are fast-moving from the the southwest mixed with hail and thunder, a break with sun then more peas-sized hail and thunder throughout the afternoon and evening. We can expect more Saturday.

- Bill
Read More

Blizzard of 2013 - February 20, 2013 Oracle and Tucson

Sat, 9 Mar 2013 01:00:00 GMT

Each year Oracle sees some snow in winter, and since I moved here the past few winters it's not uncommon to have a storm deliver up to 4-5 inches, and my neighbor remembers a winter when he saw 2 feet. But on February, not only did Oracle see 8 inches, down in Tucson saw up to a 1/2 inches accululation on cool surfaces during the day. That doesn't happen every year there. Lot's of excitement that day.

- Bill
Read More

First Snow in Oracle - December 14 thru 15 - 2012

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 12:01:00 GMT

Ok, forecasts were correct with the cold front moving in from the south on Friday the 14th with some rain, and on queue temps dropped enough for some white stuff accumulating on cold surfaces, resulting with about 3/4 inches on snow up here in Oracle. Temps varied enough to mix with rain, sleet and the white stuff. We had already moved the chilis into the work shed, so they are ok with it, along with some herbs. The basil chose to live inside the kitchen window.
Read More

June 16 2012 - The Rain Returns

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 00:18:00 GMT

Today we received our first much needed rain since April 14 along with some thunder, during which temperatures dropped more than 20 degrees and still dropping. We're hoping for an early start of the monsoon season after seeing daily temperatures rising higher than normal for the past month. Total precipitation so far today is 0.17 inches, a good start.Last year's chili plants are thriving with new leaf growth and chilies. The old parsly plants are near flowering, th...
Read More