Pam Knox
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The North Carolina State Climate Office is finishing up a series of blog posts that describe various aspects of their coastal areas, including one on coasts and agriculture. You can find them all, including the final one published on Thursday July 21, at https://climate.ncsu.edu/blog/category/climateblog/.
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As you probably know, the multi-year drought in the Southwestern U. S. has had profound negative consequences for farmers there. The folks who control water supplies are making cuts to irrigation water that are decreasing or stopping water deliveries to some farmers, leaving them with no irrigation for their crops. The scarce water has to…
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NOAA released the latest global climate summary late last week. It showed that for the earth as a whole, it was the sixth warmest on record since the observations began in 1880. It was also the second lowest global sea ice coverage, with only June 2019 having less area covered by ice. You can see…
Posted in: Climate summaries -
Most parts of the region got a decent amount of rain last week, with a few exceptions in upstate South Carolina and points north. This week looks drier, with the heaviest rain off the coast early in the week. Temperatures will be warm so evaporation rates will be high. The long-range pattern continues to show…
Posted in: Climate outlooks -
The last seven days of rain have put a significant dent in the drought that has been plaguing the Southeast for the past few weeks. Every state and Puerto Rico saw lower coverage of drought this week, and the most severe drought was also reduced in intensity in most places except far NW Alabama. Seasonal…
Posted in: Drought -
Here is something that never occurred to me before but should have. Irrigation is made up of long metal poles and equipment that is out in the field and can be frequently hit by lightning because it is often the tallest thing in the field. I did not realize that it can hold a charge…
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Forecasts for La Niña continue to show that we are likely to get a third year in a row of La Niña conditions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This means that our next winter could be warmer and drier than normal again. Some of the longest-range models are showing this already. As I have learned…