Rolla Daily Digest Sunday, August 23, 2026
Ty's Take
Somebody around here is always reading the signs, and this week they're reading onion skins and the thickness of a walking stick's bark to figure out what winter's bringing. That's the kind of forecasting that doesn't need satellites or supercomputers, just a lifetime of paying attention to how things grow in Phelps County. Meanwhile we're sweating through another heat warning, the kind that makes you remember why folks float the Current and Jacks Fork come August, and down in Vichy the fire department's decided the best way to beat the heat on Sunday is to gather around a table instead of a thermometer. There's a particular logic to all this: read what the land tells you, endure what's here now, and find your people when the weather turns mean.
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Phelps County Focus
Onion skins, walking sticks predict winter weather
Martha Furman Kojro of Doolittle has long used traditional Ozarks methods to predict winter weather by observing natural signs like onion skins and walking sticks. Her folk forecasting techniques, passed down through generations, offer locals an alternative way to prepare for the colder months...
Extreme Heat Warning continues
An Extreme Heat Warning covers the entire area through Sunday evening at 8 p.m., with heat index values reaching 105 to 110 degrees during afternoon and early evening hours. Overnight temperatures will only drop to the middle 70s and lower 80s through the weekend, offering little relief from the...
Vichy firefighters will fix Sunday dinner
The Vichy Volunteer Fire Department will serve grilled pork steaks, homemade chicken and dumplings, and other home-cooked sides at their fundraiser dinner on Sunday, August 16, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the firehouse on Highway 63 S in Vichy, with adult meals at $15 and children ages 5-12 at $7,...
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