Tuesday entertainment

Our own ACA resident Al Rose has a fairly new band, Tarnished Rose, a classic rock/blues band of primarily 60s hits.  They'll be performing at the Laurel Ridge Country Club in Waynesville (between downtown and Walmart) Tuesday evening, May 1, 530p-9p.  It's a kinda sorta pre-Cinco de Mayo party there with a $22 buffet of fresh Mexican foods.  Al handles vocals and lead guitar in fine fashion...I caught 'em at the Froggy Bottom bar several weeks ago with other ACA residents...a great, fun time was had by all.

Nice to be back as I've been gone more than I've been here the past two months.  Missed our hail storm by 24 hours...hopefully we don't have a repeat of that anytime soon.  In the past two weeks I've tallied 5.25" in my gauge, so we're doing well in the rain department.

bob

Big weather changes coming up

A vigorous cold front will be pushing through here later tonight, pushing a good spread of thunderstorms through the mountains later today.  Severe is always possible, but there are no concerns for a big event from what's coming.  However, from this morning's quiet spring start, there is some not only cold air heading our way but very windy conditions, as well.

Late Sunday, as temps fall, any leftover moisture could mix in as snow, including the first half of Monday.  No travel issues expected from that, though....it's just all about the uncomfortable cold and potential harm to the bloomers out there. 

Monday morning's low is slated to be in the mid 20s, but there is a big concern for advection frost to occur, with winds forecast to be blowing steadily 20-25 mph with gusts to 40 mph.  Just putting sheets over blooms and buds might not do a thing unless they are well anchored down.

Not sure many of us will hit 40 Monday for a high, with Tuesday morning in the 24-28 range, sans all that wind.  Thankfully a bona fide warm-up starts kicking in after all this.

FYI, per this past week's rain, I collected 3.35" in my sealed rain gauge.

bob

.April Flowers bring, uh,....

Spring in ACA is gorgeous...well, truth be told, every season has it's beauty, but in the spring the greening and flowering of our mountain community is something special.  

Took some pics from my place this morning which I thought you'd like looking at.  I'm sure I missed some flowers, but didn't feel like donning my billy goat horns to bushwhack around the mountainside to get 'em all. 

The last two shots are of 'other' activity near the house, one we can all relate too.  As always, click on pics to enlarge...

TRILLIUM

TRILLIUM

CANADIAN VIOLET

STAR CHICKWEED

BLUE COHOSH

COMMON BLUE VIOLET

DWARF LARKSPUR

SMOOTH YELLOW VIOLET

DOWNED, STRIPPED CHERRY TREE

PILEATED WOODPECKER, The Stripper!

 bob

Dodged the first one....

The wind is still doing its thing, which is definitely keeping the temperatures well above forecast.  It was 32 at my house at 530a and 20 minutes later up to 33.  Asheville airport still at 42.  Suits me just fine.  Looks like a lot of us will stay below 50 for a high today, and tonight it is slated to drop into the upper 20s.  Not expecting the wind to still be around.


I've been gone for a couple of weeks, thanks to my old car dying in Charlotte.  Just got back last night with new wheels, and one of the first things I want to do is take some wildflower shots and post them here later today. Spring in ACA is simply stunning. Stay tuned!

Bob

FREEZE WARNING tonight....

Batten down the floral hatches; it's gonna be a cold one tonight.  I'd love to have a temperature inversion, but not expecting one.  If you have flowers and buds that will not appreciate lows in the mid 20s, then cover the ones you can the next TWO nights.  Otherwise, throw a few logs on the fire and enjoy the cold temps that didn't get their spring invitation on time.


Actually, in snooping through the only records available (Asheville airport), I pulled out some April weather trivia facts:


April 11 record low:   24 degrees
Coldest April low:  20 degrees  (April 1, 5, 7)
Latest snow recorded:  0.1"  April 29, 1874
Latest snow >1":    2.0"  April 28, 1928
Biggest April snow:   11.5"  April 3, 1987

Bob