We had our first hard freeze of the Season overnight October 17th with a low of 21° (-6 Celsius). That shattered the previous record cold temperature for the date (28 degrees) by 7 degrees. Last night, was the second killing freeze in a row; being even a few degrees colder.

The average date of our first light freeze is normally October 28th. So, we were about 10 days early on the freeze. The average date of our first hard freeze is November 5th. So, we were around 2 weeks early for that. Some of the suburbs here were just 15° overnight.

However, in just another 2 days from today, it will then be back to 85° again! Highs over the weekend will continue to be in the 80° as well. However, winds will gust 30-40 mph Saturday and 40-50 mph Sunday! Glad I now have all the flowering plants indoors to keep the good feeling going. Even with a "warm up", 85° and 50 MPH wind doesn't sound like much fun outdoors. On top of everything else, the region is suffering from extreme drought.

Crazy Midwestern Weather!!!

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All of my hibiscuses and petunias are now inside the house. They are still blooming.

Sadly, everything else (that had to be left out on the deck) froze to death last night. What a sudden change and such a bleak sight. We certainly haven't had a "normal" Fall.

The Solar Room (part of our passive Solar Home design) is unheated. However, there are no problems at this time of year for growing even the most sensitive of tropical plants. Later in the Winter -with both day and night being below 20 degrees and no sunshine for days - can be a problem. Passive solar heating only works when there is sunshine.

Above is just a partial view of the glassed-in room (with roof windows) that extends across the entire back of our house. It is actually much larger and currently filled to the brim with house plants. Most of the flowering hibiscuses are out-of-sight at the other end.