Puddles out in the yard
Cat w/ a squirrel, working hard
Over 2" now in the gauge
Drought..into a lesser stage?
June 2026 - On & Off Earth
This column took a bit of a veer on May 21st with the news that all of Louisa had moved from severe to extreme with the latest update of the state drought map. Because, at that same moment, I heard the first rain drops of our forecast wet spell begin to fall on my roof. The drops continued all evening and by morning there were 1.5” in my rain gauge.
That is a good start but with 10” the estimate needed to recharge local groundwater systems, only a start. By the time you read this, we’ll all know more. It was nice to at least see a puddle form, even if briefly before soaking into the very thirsty soil.
In an average summer, puddles most often form from two events: thunderstorms and hurricanes. June does kick off Hurricane Season. The National Weather Center’s storm forecast for 2026 is calling for below average hurricane numbers due to the influence of a powerful El Niño building in the Pacific.
El Niños occur when the steady Trade Winds of the tropics weaken and all the warm water they had pushed to the western side of Earth’s biggest ocean sloshes back against the Americas. Patterns change, winds pick up that hinder hurricane development allowing fewer Atlantic storms to form. Forecasting has improved dramatically but it is a chaotic, tempestuous planet. Time, as always, will tell and it only takes one hurricane to make a large impact.
There are certainties for June. Summer will officially begin with the Solstice at 4:25am on the 21st. Students and teachers will celebrate another school year’s end; gardens, timely planted and watered, will begin to produce; beaches and mountains will beckon. It’s June, the long days of summer are here, time to grab the shades and sunscreen and get out there.
June’s long hours of daylight limit evening sky gazing options but there is a lovely show going on all month just after dark. Venus remains brilliant as the Evening Star and is mostly stalled in the western sky but Jupiter is dropping toward it, daily! The two will be very close at dusk on the 9th but a nightly check will reveal why the Greeks called them planets, they ‘wander’. A crescent moon and Mercury join the scene on the 16th and 17th.
Earlier on the 17th, a rare daytime Moon/Venus occultation, or blocking, will occur. You’ll need to first block the sun, the corner of a building works well. Binoculars will also be a huge help but with clear, blue skies you can see the moon and Venus in daylight (a sky app on your phone will also help find them). The leading, dark edge of the moon will block the planet at about 3:45pm. Venus will pop out from the lit side of the moon about 5:11pm. The two will still be very close four hours later when skies are dark. The occultation will be a challenge, but will create a lasting memory; good luck!
Listening to the rain still falling on my roof allows me a sigh of lawn and garden relief. While it may put a damper on Memorial Day weekend festivities the world I’m looking out on has turned back to a more vibrant green, as all the lifeforms we share this planet with slurp up the life sustaining water and kick back into summer grow mode.
This June be on the lookout for signs from the hidden world just below our feet that has not shown itself this spring in our ongoing drought. The web of fungal mycelia, ever at work turning dead stuff into nutrients it then shares with neighboring plants will, finally, with the rain, take a chance on breeding. This year, June, after quite a delay is about to become Mushroom Season!
Mo' rain on the way
Hoooooray
Today On Earth
