Pam Knox
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The NWS has just updated their El Nino blog to discuss the latest news on El Nino. You may recall that we have been flirting with an El Nino for several months but so far none has materialized, although many signs are there. The new blog posting discusses the latest with the Eastern Pacific Ocean…
Posted in: Uncategorized -
The State Climatology Office of North Carolina is publishing a series of regional breakdowns on the climate of 2014. You can see the first in the series focusing on coastal NC at https://nc-climate.ncsu.edu/climateblog?id=114&h=5666e5c1.
Posted in: Climate summaries -
Forecasting winter precipitation can be tricky in many places, but particularly on the east side of the Appalachian Mountains, where shallow pools of very cold air can be forced south, forming a shallow layer of cold air beneath warmer air. I’ve discussed this weather pattern, officially called “cold air damming” and unofficially “the wedge,” in…
Posted in: Climate science -
NOAA released their annual summary report for 2014 this morning. You can read the report at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/national/2014/12. The report shows that this is the 18th year in a row that the US average temperature has exceeded the 20th century average, and the 34th warmest year for the contiguous US. In general, most of the Southeast…
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The first global summary of 2014 annual temperature is out, and it shows that 2014 was the warmest year on record for the globe. The Japan Meteorological Agency is one of four major independent groups studying the trends in global climate, and released their estimate of the 2014 global temperature last week. Their graph of…
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Yahoo News posted a story yesterday about one of the newest threats to climate change in the US–beavers! The critters have been making a comeback across the country, building dams which back up water into ponds. The ponds are great for improving water storage and providing habitat for a variety of other animals, but also…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
The Southeast is one of the best regions in the country for the development of solar power due to its abundant sunshine, available acreage, and closeness to major cities and other power users. The Athens Banner-Herald posted a column today describing the state’s growing stature as a national leader in solar energy. You can read…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news