Pam Knox
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What is the maximum amount of precipitation a storm could dump on a given area over time? This is a question that is studied by scientists at NOAA (I used to work for this research group many years ago). We need to know it for design of large projects like dams that require prudent planning…
Posted in: Climate science -
The folks at NIDIS (National Integrated Drought Information System) have put together a summary of the drought conditions across the Southeast at https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates/drought-status-update-southeast-2024-07-15. You can read it to see the current status of different drought parameters like precipitation as well as a description of impacts that the drought is causing.
Posted in: Drought -
The latest 7-day QPF map shows that much of the region will get rain, but the chances are low this weekend except for the immediate East Coast and the Florida Peninsula. Rain chances increase later in the week for the rest of the region as the high pressure (and associated really hot temperatures) moves off…
Posted in: Climate outlooks -
The latest Drought Monitor, released today, shows that rain in Florida and in eastern Georgia improved drought conditions there. However, the lack of rain in northern Alabama, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia caused some degradation of drought conditions there. On the latest map, over 50% of the region is covered by drought, and 83% is…
Posted in: Drought -
According to the monthly climate summary for June 2024 released today by NOAA, this past June was the second warmest on record for the 130 years of official records for the US. The worst heat was in the southwestern part of the country, but almost everywhere was warmer than normal. For the January through June…
Posted in: Climate summaries -
We entered July with a big heat spell that lasted through the first week. Temperatures are still warmer than normal now but not as high as the past week, and the pattern has shifted so that we are back in the flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, which has…
Posted in: Climate outlooks -
The importance of bees and other pollinators on food production cannot be understated, since without pollinators most plants could not produce food and seeds for future plants. Here are two recent stories I read that discuss two different aspects of how the changing climate is affecting pollinators. The first story, from Morning Ag Clips, reviews…