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Today's Forecast - 5/19/2012

Mostly sunny today with some high cloudiness. Warmer today with highs in the upper 70s for the valleys and 60s for the mountains. Overnight lows will be in the 40s.

We do have the sun back with us in full force and we will see warming continue through tomorrow. We will break the 80 degree mark on Sunday. But, this will be the warmest weather we will see for at least the next week.

Starting on Monday, we will see our weather become dominated by unsettled conditions that could keep the chance for showers around. We will also see temps back to normal, or slightly below normal in the upper 60s to the mid 70s. Looking even further ahead to the Memorial Day Weekend, sad to say but at this point my long range forecast is going to be wrong.

No, not seeing it clouding up and raining per se, but it is shaping up to be a bit on the cool side with highs in the upper 60s to mid 70s. There could be some showers around to start the weekend on Saturday the way things look now, but it looks like we will get sunnier on Sunday and Monday. Compared to recent Memorial Days, this one looks exceptional. But, when you had forecast sunny skies with highs in the 90s to maybe even upper 90s.....well, that does not look so good.

If you made camping plans based on my predictions, you are still going to be okay. Just be prepared for it to be in the 70s instead of the 90s. It will be dry for the most part though other than a chance for showers on Saturday. These would be most likely in the mountains, the coast, and to the north of us per usual. All in all though, I am still expecting that this Memorial Day weekend will still turn out to be just fine.

We are going to be in the path of a solar eclipse on Sunday. This event occurs once every 20 years or so. I am not sure when Southern Oregon and Northern California were last in the direct path for the maximum effect. This type of eclipse will not be a total. When the moon is over the sun at it's apex, there will be what looks like a ring of fire. We are going to be very lucky in that the forecast for Sunday is calling for clear enough skies to allow for viewing of this event with precautions. You never want to look directly at the sun even during an eclipse without some form of protection in use. This will especially be the case with this one as it could damage your eyes. The eclipse will occur in the late afternoon and early evening. The full effect of this eclipse will be around 6:20 to 6:40 pm. It promises to be quite a show. Here is a link to a story prepared by the National Weather Service. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/skywarn/AnnularEclipse2012.pdf

If you are going to head to one of our local rivers to try to beat the heat here early in the season, you do need to keep this in mind. We are already seeing fatalities from people getting into the water in the local rivers. While the air temps are warming up nicely and you might think of heading to the rivers for relief, remember that the temps of the water are very cold. Couple that with high and fast stream flows and it does not take long for even strong swimmers to be in trouble. Use caution when near the water and always watch small children.

Looking for something for your kids to do this summer? If they are going to be in 8th or 9th grade, Mt. Ashland is offering their Youth Summer Service Environmental Camps. They are now accepting applications for this program that they do every summer. The kids selected work for 20 hours a week. They earn community service credits. They can also purchase a season pass for just $175 for the 2012 - 2013 season. Mt. Ashland will provide the transportation, the tools, and the supervision. The kids provide the "can do" attitude. It is very fun, rewarding work that they will be doing. It is a great chance for them to get up close and personal with the environment on the mountain. It will be very educational for them. There are going to be three sessions beginning in mid July. There are only 12 kids selected for each session. To get your child registered for consideration, please go to this site.....http://www.mtashland.com/Page.asp?NavID=44. The deadline to sign up is Thursday the 24th.

The Road Condition page has been updated to let you know what is happening. No issues today from weather. Highway 101 on the coast still has areas of sunken road grades between Brookings and Gold Beach creating some slow downs. Get all the details on the road condition page. 

The RV Consignment Center camping page got a big update. If you have been waiting to make your camping reservations, you might have waited too long already. Many of the most popular camping spots have been filling up. If you want to make sure you have a camping spot this summer you better act now. The RV Consignment Center camping page has links to get to the most popular camping spots in the area including the Oregon State Parks. Find out which ones have already been getting booked up. The Forest Service has announced that they are no longer going to maintain some campgrounds in the Prospect and Butte Falls areas. Find out which ones and what this means also on the RV Consignment Center camping page.

The Gardening page has been given an information update. I found a great article regarding the basics where it comes to gardening in the Rogue Valley. I have also posted the dates of the last frosts on average and when the first frosts of the season will typically arrive. I think many of you will find very useful information there. The Gardening page will also be the place that we will alert you to what types of vegetation will be at risk from frost and freeze when that is occurring.

For fishermen, the action in the rivers is now firmly focused on the spring chinook run. The lower Rogue has seen very good fishing and that will soon be spreading upriver. Diamond Lake now has open water and at least one open boat ramp. For trout fishermen the opener was good, but not great. As the waters in the lakes continue to warm, fishing will be improving. Check out the fishing page for the latest information on where to go for the best results.

On the hunting page I will give you the latest on the wandering wolf OR - 7. He ran into wildlife biologists down in California and they got the first color picture known to exist of him. I will also rebut a gigantic misstatement of a fact by an animal rights activist.

I had posted here previously about the snowfall totals for March. Now, let's look at the rainfall amounts. Medford had 3.92 inches of rain for March. This made it the 7th wettest March ever. But, amazing as that might sound....Medford was one of the driest locations in the area in March. Some locations in the coastal mountains had over 18 inches of rain. Locally we had recording sites in the mountains get over a foot of rain. Then, there was the information that came to me yesterday from my weather reporter Lloyd up in Butte Falls. He reports that coming into the month of March, Butte Falls was sitting at nearly 4 and half inches below normal for rainfall for the water year which began in September.

In March he reports that Butte Falls got 8.92 inches of rain. That is a mind blowing 219 percent of normal! This is just an incredible amount and I am almost positive that if we checked it, it is going to be a record for rainfall in ANY month in Butte Falls. Butte Falls went from being nearly 4 and half inches below normal at the beginning of March to being .37 inches ABOVE normal by the end of the month! Was it any wonder that Lost Creek Reservoir filled completely in just a month and half? But, this is what it took. An unprecedented rainfall event that lasted almost one month. We have been witness to something that can only be described as a miracle.

We are going to be seeing a really bad fire season this year. Get your property ready now. My friend Nick Rodgers owns Rodgers Contract Cutting and he will come and clear out the brush on your property to help make it more resistant to fire. He will also get rid of stuff like blackberries! If you have some small stands of timber you would like to harvest he can do this too. He also knows how to access grant monies that can help pay for his services. Give him a call at 541 - 951 - 1248. Nick is a great guy and you will enjoy meeting him. Very experienced in this line of work too.

Remember! There is an ongoing deal for readers of rogueweather.com. You get 20 percent off of your purchases at The Cupcake Daily in Talent when you mention rogueweather.com. Their cupcakes are wonderful and if you have not had them you should! Be watching at RogueWeather.Com on face book because The Cupcake Daily has their Cupcake Cruiser that they send out all over Southern Oregon so that if you can't make it to Talent, the cupcakes will come to YOU! We will always post when and where the Cupcake cruiser will be so that you can be there too.

FEATURED SPONSORS OF THE DAY:

Jacked Up Priorities Offroad

476 N. Front Street

Central Point, Oregon

97502

541 - 690 - 2002

Website and face book page coming soon!

I would like to welcome Jacked Up Priorities Off Road in Central Point to rogueweather.com. The owner is Clay, and he is somebody you will ALL want to get to know. He is an absolute pro and a serious craftsman at what he does. So what does he do? He does custom fabrications and can build you a serious off road machine! Pick ups, SUVs, Jeeps, Older Broncos.....he does them all and the work is first rate! I have been in to see his work first hand. He is doing a customized Nissan Pathfinder that is going to be just sick when it is done. I could not begin to describe the amount of work and detail going into it, you have to see that for yourself. Clay also does the best lift kits around. He can take your truck and give a slight lift, or he can jack that bad boy up into a full on mountain eating machine if you want. He also has aftermarket parts of every imaginable type, and does general automotive as well. Now comes the best part.........his shop rate is an unbelievable $50 per hour, and he will meet or beat ANY written estimate you have! The guy is amazing at what he does, you WILL want to check him out I promise you. Oh, I almost forgot, you got a quad or ride like a Razor and you want to customize that? No worries, Clay can do those too!

Hotsy Power Washers:

Hudson Saw and Tool

2919 North Pacific Highway

Medford, Oregon

97501

541 - 772 - 2293

Hudson Saw and Tool is the official dealer for all of Southern Oregon for Hotsy Power Washers. This is where you go to get a new unit or to get factory authorized warranty and repair work done on your Hotsy washers. Hudson Saw and tool also has accessories for all kinds of uses available.

Trail Tough Suzukis

1031 Narregan Street

Medford, Oregon

97501

877 - SUZUKIS (877 - 789 - 8547)

http://trailtough.com/

These guys are legends now when it comes to building SAWEET custom mountain crushing crawlers and off road enduro machines out of Suzuki Samurias and Chevy Trackers which are one and the same. They are the finest providers of the best hardcore 4 x 4 off road parts and conversions for Suzuki Samurias, Sidekicks, and X 90s. They also do Chevrolet Trackers. They have lockers, gears, engine conversions, suspension lift kits, bumpers and so much more! There is nothing Brent and his crew have not done to a Samurai or a Tracker. If you have questions or need anything at all, these are your experts to go to.

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Welcome to RogueWeather.com

Providing you with a one stop, one click access to all seasonal fun! Sporting, Recreational, & Road Condition updates to keep your day headed in the right direction!

RogueWeather.com is based in Medford, Oregon. The founder, Greg Roberts is the forecaster. Greg has nearly 30 years of weather forecasting experience, specializing in severe weather events. Greg has received training from a variety of sources, including the University of Oklahoma. 

Greg volunteers as a Skywarn weather observer for the National Weather Service. This has lead to many hours out in the field storm chasing and getting up close with the storms he loves. 

Greg also served as a fire fighter and during this time prepared forecasts for major wildfires in Oregon & Northern California