Re: Aust rainfall map (I'm getting a bit off Iris here)

Dave

Check out

www.bom.gov.au

the coldest temp we have recorded is -9oC air temp. Gound min is usually
about 4 degrees lower.

Colleen Modra
Adelaide Hills
South Australia  Zone 8/9

colleen@impressiveirises.com.au
www.impressiveirises.com.au



----- Original Message ----- 
From: <DFerguson@cabq.gov>
To: <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 7:44 AM
Subject: Re: [iris] Aust rainfall map (I'm getting a bit off Iris here)


> I want to be clear that this is not meant as a criticism, rather as a
> frustrated observation.
>
> I've noticed over the years that to people in southern Australia
> (generally) "cold" is defined by how often frost occurs or perhaps how
> often plants such as Citrus are damaged.  Degrees of cold are rarely
> mentioned (and seemingly it rarely gets truly far below the freezing
> mark?).  In the northern hemisphere, in most regions, cold is not defined
> by how often there is frost, but by when the first and last frosts occur,
> and how cold it gets in between the first and last.  It seems to me a bit
> like comparing apples and TV stereo sets.  Often it seems that "cold" in
> Australia is subtropical by northern standards.
>
> There is a huge difference between 28F (rarely damages anything) and -50F
> (kills almost everything), yet both are "cold", and both are below
> freezing.  [that translates to roughly -2C and -45C, I think - off the top
> of my head].
>
> I know that in some of the southeastern mountainous regions there are
> climates that approach the northern winters, but I find it almost
> impossible to locate meaningful descriptions of these climates (usually
> snow is mentioned, but that means nothing, except that it precipitates
when
> it's below freezing).  I'm sure I'm just looking in the wrong places.
>
> I wonder if there is an easy place to learn more about the actual details
> of the climate of southern Australia.  There are actually Australian
plants
> that survive the winters in Albuquerque, but so far it is very few.
> Knowing more about what regions to look in for such plants would make it
> easier to locate species that we could try in our northern gardens.
>
> My question for posters here would be "how cold is cold"?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dave
>
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