Pam Knox
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The latest Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows that in the region as a whole, drought decreased in most areas due to recent rain. This includes the elimination of severe (D2) drought in Florida as heavy rains fell over the driest area. Some dry conditions shrunk in the Carolinas but the area of moderate (D1)…
Posted in: Drought -
Since we are halfway through March, here is a quick look at how the climate is shaping up so far. The temperature across the region has been warmer than normal everywhere except for parts of Alabama. The colder area had more rain and cloud cover, which helped keep the temperature down. Most of the region…
Posted in: Climate summaries -
NOAA released their latest global climate summary earlier this week. It covers February and the winter months of December through February. The data show that for the earth as a whole, this was the 7th warmest February on record, in spite of being in a La Nina when the earth’s temperatures are usually cooler than…
Posted in: Climate summaries -
The National Weather Service provides a lot of weather and climate observations across the United States and has done so for well over 100 years. But their network is limited in what it measures, focusing mainly on temperature and precipitation, plus wind, humidity, and pressure at airport locations where that information is needed for flight…
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With the dry conditions out west and the rainy season nearly finished, water managers out there are worried about how to provide water for the thirsty citizens and crops that live and grow there in the dry land. In past years, the snowpack that accumulated over the winter provided irrigation water as they slowly melted…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
If you are interested in keeping track of precipitation at your home or business, you might be interested in joining the Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow Network, also known as CoCoRaHS. This network of citizen scientists takes daily measurements of precipitation using a standard 4-inch diameter rain gauge and reporting it online every day.…
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Do you know what plant hardiness zone you live in? It’s very useful information when you are trying to decide what plants to grow in your garden. The USDA plant hardiness zones are related to the average lowest minimum temperature at a location. Over time they have changed a bit as temperatures have gotten warmer…
Posted in: Tools for climate and agriculture