Scott Turner Hikes

Lombardy poplars

Local Temperatures should be declining most rapidly during this time of year, according to more than a century of local meteorological records. With every successive week, daily maximum temperatures are declining by about .75˚ Fahrenheit, and daily minimum temperatures are plummeting by about 1˚ Fahrenheit. (This gradual onset of fall/winter chill is probably all but unnoticed by most newcomers from harsher climates.) By January, our mean temperature will have fallen to about 55˚ Fahrenheit, from an average temperature of about 70˚ Fahrenheit in August.

Palomar Mountain in the fall

parks.ca.gov

Autumn Color in San Diego County’s mountains reaches its greatest intensity in late October and early November. The forested heights of Palomar Mountain are especially colorful right now. Black oaks on Palomar’s rolling uplands will be exhibiting bright yellow and brown hues for the next few weeks. Cuyamaca Reservoir remains a worthwhile leaf-peeping destination. The shimmering leaves of the Lombardy poplar, an Italian import that has taken root at the south end of the lake, delight the eye with their golden radiance.

A New Moon appears on Friday, November 5 (exactly at 5:15 pm Eastern Daylight Time).

Daylight-saving time ends at 2 am on Sunday (November 7) for most of North America. Clocks fall back an hour — and some of them do it all by themselves, this being the 21st century.

The above comes from the Outdoors listings in the Reader compiled by Jerry Schad, author of Afoot & Afield in San Diego County. Schad died in 2011. Planet information from SkyandTelescope.org.