January 2021
-
Rising temperatures from increased greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are affecting many aspects of life, including sea level rise, rising costs of utilities, and production management for agriculture. Agriculture is often blamed for the increase in greenhouse gases, although in reality there are other factors that contribute just as much. But agriculture has…
-
The latest 7-day QPF map shows that almost all of the region is expected to get less than a quarter inch of rain this week. The only exceptions are in parts of Alabama and the east coast of North Carolina, which could get up to half an inch. The rain should be out of the…
Posted in: Climate outlooks -
The latest annual climate summary for 2020 is now available from NOAA. It shows that this was the 5th warmest year on record for the contiguous 48 states, 2.4 degrees above the long-term average. The top 5 warmest years all occurred in 2012 or later. The precipitation was 0.34 inches above the long-term average, which…
Posted in: Climate summaries -
Since late December, the atmosphere 18 miles above the North Pole has undergone a dramatic warming of as much as 100 F. This event is called a “sudden stratospheric warming” and has the potential to affect weather near the ground. SSWs occur about six times per decade and vary in strength and timing, although almost…
-
If you are interested in buying a personal weather station for your home, here are a couple of articles which might help you decide which one to purchase. Note that the weather station in the photo is a research weather station, probably more complicated than you would want at home. Popular Mechanics: Become Your Own…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
The latest Drought Monitor, released today, shows that recent rains have reduced the area of abnormally dry (D0) conditions in the region, especially in Alabama and Georgia. Rains this week should continue to reduce those areas over the next week.
-
The Southeast Regional Climate Center has released their annual summary for the climate of 2020 in the Southeast. You can read it at https://sercc.com/SoutheastRegionAnnualClimateReport2020.pdf.
Posted in: Climate summaries