Pam Knox

  • Since it is halfway through the month, it’s worth taking a look at how the climate is doing so far.  The maps below show that for most of the Southeast except for Florida, and to a lesser extent coastal areas, the temperatures have been well below normal, which has slowed the ripening of some crops.…

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  • Thanks to the heavy rains of Irma last weekend, all areas of abnormally dry conditions have been removed from Georgia and South Carolina in this week’s Drought Monitor map. Two small areas remain in North Carolina and Virginia.

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  • NOAA issues La Niña watch

    This morning NOAA issued a La Niña watch for the equatorial Pacific Ocean, based in part on strong winds towards the west which are increasing a pool of colder than normal water along the equator.  This is a change from last month’s forecast, which indicated neutral conditions would be likely over the winter. The forecast…

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  • Even though it’s been three weeks since Hurricane Harvey blasted into Texas and dropped an astounding 50 inches of rain, we are still learning about the aftermath of this damaging storm.  There are some lessons here to be learned by us here in the Southeast as we deal with the clean-up from Hurricane Irma, too.…

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  • Vegetable and Specialty Crop Growers newsletter posted a descriptive article about growing grapes in Georgia, especially some of the challenges that grapes have from the weather and climate of the grape-growing areas (mainly in northern and central GA). In 2017 the wet conditions have contributed to fungal diseases on many grape varieties, while last winter’s…

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  • Irma losses to Georgia pecans

    From the Georgia Agribusiness Council Facebook: Georgia Pecan Growers Association, Inc estimates a 30% loss of the 2017 pecan crop due to damage from Hurricane Irma. Trees stripped of immature pecans as well as downed trees and limbs will have immediate and long term economic impact. Forestland, cotton, and other crops also impacted. As bad…

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  • Irma’s impacts on North Carolina

    The State Climate Office of North Carolina has issued a rapid report on the impacts of Irma on North Carolina, out on the edge of the storm.  You can read it at https://climate.ncsu.edu/climateblog?id=242&h=5666e5c1.

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