“When the trees their summer splendor
Change to raiment red and gold,
When the summer moon turns mellow,
And the nights are getting cold;
Then we know that it is autumn,
Loveliest season of the year.”
~ Carol L. Riser, “Autumn”

November in Southern California lacks a common definition. Try to find a quotation, saying or song that comes close to describing this month. After reading through hundreds, the above words at last jumped off a page. Why such difficulty? Weather is the culprit and is to blame. Over and over again adjectives such as dreary, grey, bleak, dead, rainy, withered, dull, shadows, fleeting, chill, shrouded, gloomy, piercing, icy, howling, darkness and prosaic are used. Not only downright depressing, words as such just don’t fit with “Weather in the Foothills” in November. Our climate is unique, especially at this time of year.

Though the first snow and frost arrived in many areas across the U.S., we await the first good and measurable rainfall of the season. During this time of great anticipation, I decided to get a new weather station. Ironically, the last Santa Ana winds damaged my anemometer (the instrument measuring the speed and direction of wind). While standing in line with my new toy, a fellow customer – out of earshot he assumed – commented to his wife, “I don’t understand why a person would ever want to have something like that!”

Good point, I thought. You just don’t understand. People, like me, find the very essence of weather to be physically exhilarating and scientifically fascinating. After studying the Quick Setup Guide, I also began to wonder why anyone “would ever want to have something like that!” (referring to the weather station).

According to the weather station manufacturer, you can “within minutes” have the unit out of the box and fully working. After spending one entire day, with three educated adults (one a computer tech teacher), assembly of the system is mostly complete. The Wi-Fi connection is still iffy. The forecast is rain-free, so there’s still time to work out the glitches. If not, a bucket works fine.

Cooler temperatures and scattered clouds conclude our week. Any chance for rain will stall along the SLO coastline. Warming over the weekend is expected before another storm system falls short of our area. As many places suffer the somber adjectives of November, we revel in the “loveliest season of the year.”

Sue Kilpatrick is a
Crescenta Valley resident and
Official Skywarn Spotter for the
National Weather Service. Reach her at suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.