Microseason 66 of 72 · November 26–30
Woodsmoke curls through the block
A five-day window of the year, read through nine North American climate regions.
Same week, nine climates
A microseason names a five-day window of the solar year. What that window actually looks like on the ground depends on where you are. Below, the same calendar window read through each of nine North American climate regions.
- NENortheast Continental
Woodsmoke curls through the block
Fireplace season begins; coal and wood smoke scent the air.
- SESoutheast Subtropical
North Wind Strips the Last Leaves
Cold fronts sweep south with velocity, driving temps into the 30s-40s. The final stubborn leaves on hickory and sweetgum release and tumble across the landscape.
- PNWPacific Northwest
North wind clears the gloom
Cold snap follows the rain. North wind scours the sky. Cedar and Douglas fir catch afternoon sun. Woodsmoke curls from cabin chimneys.
- CACalifornia Mediterranean
Autumn's last breath yields to winter
Final dry days before December; live oak canopies full but shedding leaves; monarch roosts consolidate on coast.
- MWMountain West
North wind strips the landscape
Persistent cold dry winds from the north scour the high country and valleys, desiccating any remaining vegetation and deepening the winter freeze.
- MPPlains Continental
Blizzard drives the herds
A strong Arctic outbreak brings heavy snow and blizzard wind. White-tailed and mule deer yard up in brush. Pronghorn hunker in draws.
- SWSouthwest Desert
North wind strips the way
Sustained winds from the north clear clouds and dry the land. Afternoon gusts push 25 mph. Desert clarity returns after brief dampness.
- TRTropical / Sub-Tropical
Harvest calm descends
Wind patterns stabilize. Dry season established. Agricultural cycles respond—harvest times shift, vegetation growth slows as water scarcity peaks.
- AKAlaska Subarctic
Polar night begins in earnest
Interior Alaska descends into twilight. Fairbanks sees only 3 hours of pale daylight. Arctic regions enter complete darkness.
About the 72-microseason calendar
A microseason is a five-day window of the solar year — long enough to notice something change, short enough that the change is specific. The year holds seventy-two of them, six per month, ordered by what the natural world is doing rather than what the clock says. Almanac calendars like this are an old American habit, kept by farmers, gardeners, and birders for centuries; Weather Story collects them into a single reference.
Each microseason is read through nine North American climate regions. The phenological events that mark a five-day window vary with ecology — the strawberries that open in the Northeast might coincide with the first magnolias dropping in the Southeast and the salmonberry blossoms unfurling in the Pacific Northwest. Same week, nine ecologies, nine readings.