Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: A fresh start ... Council Corner: City takes human needs seriously ... Gray wolf spotted by trail cam in Siskiyou County ... Our View: A fresh start ... Council Corner: City takes human needs seriously ... Gray wolf spotted by trail cam in Siskiyou County ... WEATHER OR NOT Ashland spring weather summary: boring Comment By Doyle Hirsch DailyTidings.com By Doyle Hirsch Posted Jun. 4, 2015 at 2:00 AM By Doyle Hirsch Posted Jun. 4, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Social News During the past few years, we've tended to have cool, dry winters followed by cool,wet springs — the latter helping save our collective behinds several times. Not this year. A warm, relatively wet winter (thanks to alot of heavy precipitation in early February) with hardly any snow was followed by a relatively warm and dry spring. Conditions in the mountains in early May, below 4,500 ft, resembled the beginning of July — low or non-existent stream flows, little or no standing surface water, and lots of dust. Eleven days of light rain in the middle of the month helped with the dust, but conditions are almost the same at the end of May as at the beginning. An arborist once told me that an inch of rain in May, when plants were growing, was equal to 3 inches in February, when they were dormant. So the rain we got in May was certainly welcome — just not nearly enough. Aside from lack of rain, there was nothing really distinguishing about this spring except maybe for a few days of bad air quality thanks to the "you might smell a little smoke" crowd. Yeah, I smelled a "little" smoke," I saw a "little" smoke, I tasted a "little smoke," I breathed in a "little smoke," and I coughed up a "little smoke." Did ya ever notice that when they have a controlled burn they always say that they're gonna pick a day when the prevailing winds will blow the smoke away from populated areas? And exactly the opposite happens — repeatedly. Well, maybe it was a good thing, priming our lungs for what promises to be a grim summer. And besides, the DEQ said the air quality was "good" and you gotta believe those guys, despite the fact that they conspicuously lack an air quality monitor in the east end of the valley which usually gets the worst of the pollution. They do have one in Shadeless Cove, though. Conspiracy theorists are free to indulge themselves. The following are a few statistics from this spring. As usual, your data may vary considerably, especially the nearer you are to lower-lying areas like the ScienceWorks Museum or to maybe Quiet Village (the latter not to be confused with the excellent Martin Denny tune from the late '50s — it's still good, especially compared to today's processed garbage, and worth a listen — excellent jungle sounds, too). For the record for the season: • Warmest temp — 87 degrees (May 29). • Coldest temp — 30 degrees (March 3). • Date of last freeze — 32 degrees (April 2). • Number of days with temps at or below freezing — four. • Coldest daily high temp — 46° (April 7). • Greatest 24 hour precipitation — 0.6" (March 14) (pathetic). • Normal Spring precipitation over last 10 years — 7.62". • Spring precipitation 2015 — 5.00". • Highest wind gust — 38 mph (April 6). Weather or Not by Ashland weather statistician Doyle Hirsch appears periodically. By Doyle Hirsch DailyTidings.com By Doyle Hirsch Posted Jun. 4, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501