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| Above, October 19's snow. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The plunge will lower nighttime temperatures down into the 20s starting Tuesday. We may get some rain, but at least no snow is forecast.
According to the National Weather Service:
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| Above, Barking Spider Acre after finishing mowing. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
With today's temperatures in the 70s (it is forecast to hit 81° tomorrow), I decided to break out the mower and mow Barking Spider Acre.
The shrubs and grass were starting to get taller from all of the snow and rain we received during the monsoon season and winter snows. I was going to wait another week or two, but I decided to get on it today.
It was a nice day to ride the mower. After I was done, I chatted with my neighbor Mike for awhile.
After that, I settled on the deck with some Alien Amber Ale. All in all, a good day.
UPDATE (4:30/23):
The temperature forecast has been revised down to 78°.
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| Above, the yard this evening. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
It has been bitterly cold here in Jamestown, New Mexico. It got down to 3° here this morning.
Tomorrow will do better than that: 0° at 8:00 tomorrow morning after -1° at 7:00. At least that's according to my WeatherBug app (see below). Funny how storms leave cold temperatures behind in their wake.
The little snow (about 1 1/2 inches at most) we got a few day ago is still on the ground, thanks to the cold temperatures.
Except for the ride to the post office at the Flying J today (thanks to Russell Azbill), I have been holed up inside the house all day reading and listening to records.
It will likely be more of the same tomorrow.
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| Above, the front yard this morning. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
It was too warm for the snow to last on the ground until the early evening. This morning, I saw about an inch and a half of snow on my garage roof. There was less of it on the ground from what I could see. Still, it is much less than what we got around October 26.
According to KRQE:
A storm is moving across New Mexico today. Expect light snow across parts of northern New Mexico through Friday morning and much colder temperatures.
A storm system is bringing windy weather, colder temperatures, and rain and snow to New Mexico Thursday afternoon. Temperatures are cooling off quickly behind a cold front that is sweeping across the state. Overnight, rain will switch over to snow across western and northern New Mexico as the winds will die down slightly. Snow will develop overnight in the lower elevations of northern New Mexico and the east mountains where light snowfall accumulation is possible. There is a chance for isolated, light snow Friday morning in Albuquerque, but no travel problems are expected.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, my motorhome is nicely stored during winter in its own garage. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
We're now in autumn, that means cooler temperatures during the day and, especially, at night.
If the motorhome or trailer is not going to be used in the upcoming weeks, now's the time to prepare it for winter. Where I live, it gets down to freezing (32°) or below freezing even autumn. I store my motorhome in its own garage, which offers some protection.
I keep a space heater inside the RV and one to heat the garage's interior. I drain the tanks and put anti-freeze in them and down the drains. I also use the tank heaters when it really gets cold. This has worked for me for the past three years without any problems.
But someone reading this may not have a garage to store their trailer or motorhome and could be new to RVing. Therefore, an article on how to winterize an RV in 8 easy steps by RV Travel will be a great aid in steering them in the right direction.
They start with:
If you’re the proud owner of a motorhome or trailer, you should know how to winterize an RV. Even if you live in a warm area, you never know when you might move or store your vehicle in a colder area. Winterizing your RV will keep it in good shape until you want to use it again, plus it’s a good time to do some general checkups and RV maintenance.
Although it might sound daunting to get your RV ready for winter, it’s not as tricky as it sounds. There are a few things you need to do, but you probably have most of the supplies on hand already! The main thing you need to do is just follow along with a checklist and ensure that everything is clean, dry, and in good shape for the winter.
Below we have eight steps you can follow to winterize an RV. There are a lot of smaller things you can do, but these steps are the main ones you’ll want to do, especially if you plan to store your RV outside. If you opt for an indoor storage solution, you won’t have to do all the steps below, but it’s still good to keep them in mind.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, first snow in 2018 came on October 15. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Here in Jamestown, New Mexico, we can tell when autumn is just around the corner when the nighttime temperatures start creeping into the low 50s or high 40s. That is exactly what is beginning to happen.
The temperatures this week at night are within those ranges although the daytime temperatures are still in the upper 70s to the low 80s.
Officially, the autumn equinox arrives on September 22, just 10 days away. It seemed that summer whisked by pretty fast.
This all means that it will not be long when the nighttime temperatures begin creeping into the 30s, sometimes into freezing temperatures (32° and below). That is when I have to winterize the RV so that the plumbing and holding tanks don't freeze up.
It is also not unusual for snowfalls arriving in October.
Well, summer was fun while it lasted.
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| Above, Six Mile Canyon Road three days ago. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
It got to 90° in Jamestown, New Mexico yesterday. Hot as that was, at least it wasn't the 115° temperature that other places in the country got.
During the next few days, while it will still be hot, the monsoon may not be finished with us as the National Weather Service forecasts the return of thundershowers. Monsoon season usually ends in September.
Two nights ago, we had a good little lightning storm come through. It didn't last long, but it was enough for me to hear it from indoors.
The forecast for the next few days:
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| Above, from the 2018 Lions Club Rodeo. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Jeez, Louise!
I just took a quick gander at my The Weather Channel app on my phone and they forecast today's temperature to be at 95°,
I then took a look at what the National Weather Service forecast and they have it at "around" 93°.
Regardless (by the way, there's no such word as "irregardless"), it is going to be hot in the Jamestown/Gallup area today.
But, the monsoon thunderstorms are on the horizon and the temperature will be going down into the 80s.
The Lions Club Rodeo is beginning tonight with the youth rodeo. The main rodeo will begin tomorrow and run through Saturday. If there are thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon and evening, then I will go Saturday since my ticket can be used for either days. I will probably go to the youth rodeo tonight since it's free. It starts at 6:00 this evening.
Here's the forecast for the next several days from the National Weather Service:
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| Above, The Beast at Lake Havasu in August 2019. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
I've had my 2015 Winnebago Minnie Winnie 22R (The Beast) for seven years now. During that time, I've rarely had to use the roof air conditioner. When I had to use it, it was generally in Lake Havasu, Arizona where the summer temperatures exceed 110° quite often.
Besides air conditioning, there are other ways of keeping cool in an RV. RV Life has posted and article with tips on doing so.
They begin with:
Summer is upon us, so it’s time to prepare for hot weather. Traveling in an RV is great, but constantly running the air conditioning can be a major drain on your battery. If you want to conserve energy or don’t have a functional system, it’s important to know how to stay cool without A/C.
It takes a lot less energy to maintain a lower temperature than it does to transition a hot RV into a cool one. Even if you do decide to run your A/C, you can save energy by forming some habits that will keep the interior nice and cool.
Below we have some tips that will help your RV (and the passengers within) stay cool without A/C. These range from interior upgrades to quick cool-down hacks. Try to implement some of these ideas during your travels this summer and see how easy it is to get by without relying solely on the air conditioner.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, Meeko the llama yesterday. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Dry weather with some winds will continue in Jamestown, New Mexico.
At least I am saving some money by not needing The Beast to be plugged into the power outlet to run the holding tank and space heaters.
According to the the National Weather Service, this week is shaping up as follows:
Today
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| Above, a couple of Jamestown residents. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The weather this coming week is going to be warmer with temperatures in the 80s in Jamestown, New Mexico.
But, there is no forecast of any precipitation, which is what we need. It is very dry out and dusty when the winds kick up. But at least the winds are tapering off a bit.
According to the National Weather Service, the weeks looks like this:
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| Above, the front yard yesterday. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The coming week's weather will be much like last week's, dry and windy.
According to the National Weather Service, no precipitation is forecast for the Jamestown, New Mexico area. We're under a Red Flag warning with heightened fire danger.
The temperature will be in the 60s and 70s. Night temperatures will be above freezing.
The week is shaping up as follows:
Today
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| Above, Grandpa's Grill in Gallup yesterday. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Yesterday, I had some business to take care of in Gallup. After which, I stopped at Grandpa's Grill for breakfast and did some grocery shopping.
The day turned out nice and a little warmer. It got to around 62° in the afternoon.
All that is going to change in the next 24 hours.
According to KRQE:
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Temperatures will be a few degrees warmer on Wednesday as winds pick up across the state. Another storm system will bring snow and rain chances Wednesday night through Thursday evening.
Warmer weather returned to New Mexico Tuesday afternoon. Even warmer temperatures will build in Wednesday as westerly winds become breezier across the state. A storm system will begin to move into western New Mexico late Wednesday night bringing a mix of light rain and snow.
The storm will move over northern New Mexico Thursday morning bringing moderate to briefly heavy snowfall to the northern mountains and rain to the lower elevations of northern, eastern, and central New Mexico. Clouds will increase with this storm system on Thursday as it will also bring in cooler weather statewide into the end of the week.
But, warmer weather will return on Friday.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, the backyard this morning. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Last evening's storm has passed and it is sunny with blue skies out.
But it's 10° outside now.
From what I can see, we got around 2 to 4 inches of snow last evening. I will have to do some snow shoveling as soon as it gets a little warmer.
We can look forward to warmer temperatures in the next few days, at least. Today, the National Weather Service says our high will be 32°, if you want to call that a "high".
The forecast:
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| Above, Church Rock from Red Rock Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The weird weather we had over the weekend appears to be over.
We had snow showers, rain, hail and sleet at times that were topped off with gusty winds. The coming week will be more seasonal with daytime temperatures into the 60s and above-freezing temperatures at night for Jamestown, New Mexico.
According to the National Weather Service:
Sunny, with a high near 72.
