Fall of 2013 has been a lovely September and Warm experience for the Midwest and Parts of the East Coast.  The expected shorter days actually made for crisp cool nights, with higher than usual temperatures during the daytime.  Sunny days led to longer growth patterns, and our garden community ended up extending our cold weather harvest until November 2nd.  Waiting it out, we had a long growth period in 2013, of over 180 days this summer.  Usually, the midwest experiences less than 160 days in a growth cycle, or 160 consecutive days above a freeze in the spring to a freeze in the fall.  This is the time when you can grow vegetables or plant flowers that cannot harden during the winter.  Fall of 2013 has been a very strange fall for the midwest, and will be a strong predictor of a winter to be reckoned with.

Fall of 2013 Warm in September

During the end of August and the beginning of September, the month was unusually warm, with highs near 90 during the end of August.  Even into September, the heat did not seem to dissipate, really sticking around, even when the days began to get shorter.  During the beginning of September, trees stayed green, and even leaves that usually tried to turn, did not during this period.  The maple trees, usually the first to turn, did not turn until the end of September, a full 3 weeks later than usual.

With this turn of warmer weather, the precipitation stayed to a minimum, and the drought did return to parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.  A very strange pattern of 15 to 20 days stuck, with warm weather, and dry days staying the constant.  Not until the end of the month of September, did the Fall of 2013, turn to fall like temperatures at night.

Fall of 2013 Warm in the Evenings

With the change of the sun, less light each day is the constant we all can count on.  Why is it then, that we in the midwest had to wait until the middle of October to see a cool night near 40 degrees?  And, with the change of the sun angle, this often creates more precipitation, which has not occurred too much during the fall of 2013.  Our annual rainfall in Minnesota is down from usual amounts, but it is better than it was in the spring of 2013.  Drought has been coming and going during this growing season, making the vegetable garden a difficult thing to produce.

Fall of 2013 Ends with Cold Temperatures

During the end of October, there was a tremendous shift in temperatures around the Middle of October, and the nighttime temperatures went close to freezing, and stayed near a 40 degree high.  This change during the end of the fall of 2013 really was a quick shift.  During the month of October, there were days that hit a high around 70 degrees, with lows near 55.  Very nice and temperate during the beginning of the month.   This pattern actually hit even towards the northern plains, which was very unusual.  Not known for highs in October around 60 or 70, this region is used to colder temperatures, but the pattern continued all the way to Iowa, and then shifted, immediately around October 17, 2013.

The fall of 2013 is going to be a quick evolve into winter, as we have our hard freeze occurring each night since October 22nd.   With the change of the Fall of 2013, expectations of the winter to come seem to be ominous, even when the trees have yet to drop their leaves.  With a very full set of green and gold leaves, if the snows that hit South Dakota come to the midwest, we will expect power outages and damage to trees.  Lets hope that our trees decide to drop their leaves quickly, before the first dump of snow comes to the fall of 2013.