We are within striking distance of the autumnal equinox, five days from now. In the official panoply of seasons, that’s when autumn begins, and summer ends. Living as we do between two quite different climate zones, we see the extent to which this is an approximation.
What feels like autumn arrived maybe three weeks ago here in the Rockies, and winter will also arrive well before its official start date of Dec. 21. That’s all part of having a too-long winter and a warm-but-pleasant summer that’s only about 2 months long.
By contrast, in our CA winter quarters it not only is still summer, warm, dry weather will continue until darn near Halloween. The other DrC, who spent her formative adult years as an elementary teacher, remembers how her pupils would plan their flimsy costumes based on heat, and often as not have to cover them with a coat when All Hallows Eve was the first cold evening of the year.
That contrast is the difference just over a mile of elevation makes in climate. In CA we’re 2-300 feet above sea level. Here in WY we’re maybe 5800 feet higher. WY has long winters, the Central Valley of CA has long summers, and fall there lasts until Christmas, whereas winter is largely done by mid-February when the almonds bloom.
