Hot and Humid!

[crfriend]

I don't have an answer for cold weather. I have given up on skirts in a comparatively mild winter, temps similar to what Tom is experiencing - I don't know how you all cope so well.

It's all down to the skirt in question and what goes on underneath it. I have a couple of heavy ankle-length cotton skirts that with a petticoat, slip, and tights under are quite good to about -10 F so long as I can stay dry. When it gets really cold, staying dry is key because if you don't things go downhill very, very rapidly. This includes the hem if it'll hit your legs anywhere.

A heavy petticoat is good for keeping the hem "out and away" from the legs; in addition, it adds mass and volume on its own and traps more air underneath. Some have ruffles at the hem, which, believe it or not are actually functional for trapping air and not just decorative. A smooth slip is pretty much mandatory if one is to wear heavy tights as the smooth fabric keeps the heavier fabrics of the skirt and petticoat from "catching" on tights and creating friction problems. All in all, it's an engineered system, and one that works amazingly well; it's just that it's been forgotten about now that trousers are the norm for both men and women alike.

In short (or long, depending on viewpoint), long skirts can be quite a bit warmer in winter-time than trousers. Give it a go sometime. You may be surprised.

[Uncle Al]

It happened it AGAIN!

Indoor/Outdoor thermometer read 111*F/48*(+/-)C
37 days without rain. ARGH

I miss the rain we had this past spring

Uncle Al

[skirtyscot]

My solar panels might as well emigrate, we've had so much cloudy weather. They've been up on my roof for 5 years, and I keep a record of how much electricity they make. This is for my own interest, but it is sad anoraks like me who end up contributing useful bits of data which help to build up a picture of long-term changes. Like the guy who kept a note of which dates each year the different plants in his garden flowered. He found a long-term trend of the date getting earlier, thanks to climate change.

But I digress. This year we've had the best March and April so far, an above average May, very nearly the worst June, easily the worst July ... and this month is looking pretty hopeless, could be the worst August so far. From April to (probably) August, the monthly totals have been going down, though May to August have more daylight than April. What has happened to our summer?

[dillon]

It has been quite hot here as well, though we are not unusually dry. So far, this has been the warmest summer on record. It's a sign of the times that Texas can go from flood to drought in the same summer. I had some antique solar water-heating panels, and after a roof leak, discovered that when my house was last rooved, they didnt bother to remove the panels to shingle under them. I took them down and donated them to an energy education program at a local college for a nice charitable deduction receipt. I'd like photovoltaic panels, but not on the roof again.

[john62]

Here in Melbourne we have had the coldest July in thirty years down to 1 or 2 C at night and reaching 12C at day, we were told that it would be a warm and dry winter, in both cases wrong!

John

[STEVIE]

Today, here in Aberdeen, perfect skirt weather.
Sunny and warm with the gentlest of breezes.
Apart from some rainy squalls, it's really been a most conducive few weeks.
Today, my diary entry read, "trousers, why"?
Steve.