Expecting Frost

Fall is a beautiful time across the Flint and Smoky Hills of north central Kansas. The long stem bluegrass gradually turns from deep green to reddish brown; acorns and walnuts fall to the ground without warning to be picked up by a furry squirrel getting ready for winter.

While fall closes the lazy, hazy days of summer, it is a welcome, cool, refreshing, colorful change before the bleakness of winter. Days are mild, often with deep-blue sky. Nights are chilly enough that a sweater or blanket feels good in the lengthening evenings—perfect for reading a good book, watching an old TV show or just reflecting on the changing of seasons.

Growing up on a farm in Kansas, fall was one of my favorite times of the year. Planting seeds of the hard, red, winter wheat in anticipation of a great harvest next summer; getting the last of the hay out of the fields and up into the barn; harvesting corn, soybeans and milo and working cattle meant busy evenings and weekends.

For a professional Kansas weatherman, the fall brings a much slower pace to life than the hectic thunderstorms of spring and summer and the snows and ice storms of winter. Cold fronts become more frequent, coming through about every three days like clockwork. Some fronts go through dry and some bring a wonderful couple of days of drizzly, soaking rain and dark clouds.

Frost sneaks up on us sometimes unexpectedly as it requires clear, calm nights and a temperature at or below 36°. Why 36°? The official temperature is measured two meters --about six feet--above the ground. Believe it or not-- a lot can happen in those six feet! If you stand outside on a frosty morning, it may be 36° at the top of your head but 32° at your toes! Also, metal and glass radiate heat quite efficiently--so frost often shows up on automobiles first.

Our family has long-standing fall tradition where we all get together on the family farm, eat soup, tell stories and read poems by James Whitcomb Riley and Helen Hunt Jackson about our favorite season. While it isn’t an “official” holiday, “Frost” is a favorite day of the year.

I hope this season finds you and your loved ones gathering safely together, thinking of good memories of autumns past and gives you a chance to enjoy some good company and cooler weather.

This essay courtesy of Mark Bogner, a native Kansan with a degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Kansas. He teaches meteorology at Butler Community College and does the weather for media through his company, Mark Bogner Meteorological Services. His book, “A Year of Kansas Weather,” a collection of reflections on the seasons in Kansas, is available on Amazon.com. This article appears in the latest edition of Keynotes (2020). Please contact us to receive your own copy of Keynotes.