Official 2014 SS Georgia Rally Info SSGR14 thread

Hold onto that thought for this week.

patracy said:

Frozen trails? Ice? In November in Georgia? When did this happen? Maybe the very last week of November with a arctic front? It was a low of 40F and a high of 65F here yesterday.

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Lexington, SC had two inches of snow on Nov 1 this year - check the news! It didn't last, and it has also warmed up a bit since then, but ...

patracy said:

Frozen trails? Ice? In November in Georgia? When did this happen? Maybe the very last week of November with a arctic front?

It was a low of 40F and a high of 65F here yesterday.

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OK, maybe not YET in your life time (with two sweeps of the polar vortex coming way down this year, who knows, it might come). But you plan for expected comfortable average. This year was a bit too warm for the time of year, next year maybe will be a bit too cold in the October period, but almost certainly it still will be in the comfort zone of the large majority of all participants. Aiming for a much lower average and risking a below average outcome might backfire.

A day temp of low 70s and a night temp of high 50s would be ideal from my side. Looking at some temp graphs, the average temps in November are below those numbers. Maybe we should start a pole for the optimum temp for the rally, and then fix the date so it fit that average temperature profile?

There is one thing I can guarantee about the weather, no matter what dates are chosen......we will have some.

Right now from the comments I have seen the general (most) want the dates the same. In hindsight it is actually a minor miracle that the dates are optimum in lining up with everything else going on, hunting season, Halloween and Veteran's Day. Everyone b1tches about the weather but no one does anything about it.

And I've got work trained to that date.
When they make my schedule for that week they put down rally.
Please don't make me have to retrain them lol

I vote to keep the same dates.

I find it ironic that a group with such a massive carbon foorprint , such as ourselves, would have anything to say about weather, hot or cold!

Hey I have a tag that states I am EPA compliment.

Compliant, maybe?

All I wish is that we could have a firm date. I have to choose my vacations late this week, or early next week.......................

I'm with you John. We are already going down the list for next years vacation here at work. Standing by to stand by.

Me too! If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

opcorn:
Like little old women. It's too hot. It's too cold. It's too dry. It's too wet.
Bring something to keep cool, warm, moist, and dry and you'll be all right!
Chasing the perfect weather in Georgia is like chasing a squirrel while wearing a bilndfold. You're just going to get dizzy and tired.

Night expectations for Atlanta on Thursday 24 Fahrenheit. I like cold more than heat; my record is below -50 Fahrenheit in February along the Alaska Highway. Minus 22 (no wind, clear sky) was considered a nice working day.

However, for the Rally my preference goes to the same dates as this year. If I can make it I would be over for a longer period and try convince Olga to tag along. That would only work if it is nice warm weather like this year. So two votes for the same dates.

And now I am off working at my son's workshop, completing the outside fencing and repairs. Wearing two sets of trousers and 3 sweaters, woolen cap and gloves in very windy clouded conditions, 50 Fahrenheit today here.



Try to make the gif image transparent but lost animation doing it, so has to be with the white around it.

I got confirmation from D-town this morning:

The official dates for the 2015 Ga. Rally are Oct. 7-11. This is the second weekend of October and continues our current trend.

Now, I need to explain some stuff.

First off, the idea that if I move the rally back a couple weeks that polar bears will be breaking into our tents and eating us is patently outlandish. This is Georgia, USA, not Georgia, former Soviet Republic. Our winter weather is roughly equivalent to everyone elses fall weather.

Today is November 12th and at 9am this morning, I was outside working in jeans and a t-shirt. Yesterday was the same. Today is going to be a high of 71°. Yesterday was 72°. That's in the middle of November, a month after the rally. Now, there is going to be a cold snap starting tomorrow, but the last week has been gorgeous and we're in the middle of November. The odds of the rally ever being moved this far back are nearly non-existent because I don't want to get too close to Thanksgiving.

Second, one of the biggest reasons I started a rally was that all the other events were being put on in the summer. Summer events suck and everyone knows it. You're soaking wet with perspiration, sunburned, etc. They suck. Everyone loves beautiful fall weather, so that's when I thought a rally should be put on.

The Ga Rally was originally in September-does anyone remember that? Take a look at the info thread for the very first official rally: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?12691-The-07-Ga-Southern-Rally-details-signup-here

And the weather wasn't cool enough-it was too hot during the day, so I moved it back. AND NOBODY DIED.

I have carefully charted the weather for the last 11 years in Union Point and this is what I came up with:



And I want to remind everyone that our first year at Durhamtown was 2008 and it was rainy and chilly (and downright cold at night) and guess what? The rally grew 50% the next year and nobody froze to death.

And just in case anyone's memory is short, this is how cold it was during the day in 2008. Cold enough to wear field jackets:



Third and finally: When any decision is made about the rally, no matter how inconsequential it may seem, a large amount of research and thought goes into it. I try to take everyone's opinion into account and I try to think about what's best for the rally. No decision is made for the rally without a ton of deliberation.

Just the conversation about when to move the rally to involved several hours of research to chart 10+ year of weather patterns for 5 different weekends in Union Point to try and find patterns and average temperatures. This chart was the outcome:




I don't want anyone to think that any rally decision is made "off the cuff" without a thoughtful consideration of all the possibilities: Both pros and cons.


The bottom line:

2015 will be the second weekend in October. It is extremely like that 2016 will be pushed back a couple weeks. I don't want to crowd Thanksgiving, I don't want to do it on Halloween and I can't do it on opening weekend of deer season. As soon as an answer is down on paper, I will post the 2016 dates.

And this thread is not the place for endless discussion about weather and dates. If you have a suggestion, concern or opinion, pm it to me.

I appreciate everyone's input and we can look forward to the best HMV rally in the nation next October 7-11, 2015.

That last chart makes my head hurt.

Definitely looks like a "global warming" trend....

And I was crawling around inside PB's head and just made my cabin reservation too.