Pam Knox

  • NBC News had a story online today about droughts across North, Central and South American and their impacts on agriculture.  The California drought is the one that is making the biggest news splash, and I have had many stories on this blog listing some of the variety of agricultural effects this drought has had.  But…

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  • Cold weather and frosts are causing problems for farmers in the upper Midwest this month.  Farmers planted crops late due to cold and wet spring conditions and are concerned that frost and cold, damp weather could cause reductions in yield due to immaturity.  AgWeb posted a story about these problems, which is available here.  The…

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  • Rain may ease drought next week

    The 7-day QPF forecast gives the Southeast a high likelihood of significant rains, especially in Alabama where drought has been growing over the last few weeks.  Rainfall amounts of greater than 4 inches may occur in isolated areas of northern Alabama, and rainfalls of over 1.5 inches should cover most of the state.  In Georgia,…

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  • Drought impacts near and far in the news

    One story in the Southeast that has gotten little attention this week is the severe impact of recent drought conditions on the already stressed oyster industry in Apalachicola Bay on the Florida coast.  The combination of high salinity water due to drought, as well as pressures from water usage and industrial pollution as well as…

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  • Tropics show some signs of activity

    Even though we are past the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, there are still some signs of life out there.  On the map below the named storm is Subtropical Storm Fay.  This type of storm has a different temperature structure than a true tropical hurricane but can still pack some pretty good winds.  It…

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  • The National Weather Service office of the Southeast River Forecast Center has released their latest water resource outlook video on YouTube.  If you are interested in short- and long-term predictions of rainfall and its impacts on drought, stream flows, and soil moisture you may be interested in viewing this seven-minute video.  They update them at…

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  • The Chicago Tribune published a recent article on the increasing move of American to coastal areas.  The number of people moving to the Florida coastline alone has increased 1.1 million since 1990, not including part-year residents.  A third of that coastal development has been on the shoreline itself, in spite of increasingly restrictive building codes…

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