Pam Knox

  • The State Climate Office of North Carolina noted this week that “the map on the front page of the NC Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC) website, which serves as the official drought designation for North Carolina, is different than the weekly US Drought Monitor (USDM) map.”  This happens from time to time when the assessment…

    Posted in: ,
  • Warm winter affects pecan crop

    The Southeast Farm Press published a story yesterday from Lenny Wells of UGA discussing the impacts of the unusually warm winter on this year’s pecan crop.  He expects that most buds will break dormancy in the next couple of weeks.  The most likely problems will be with decreased pollination and susceptibility to a late frost.…

    Posted in: ,
  • Temperatures were far above normal across the state in February 2017 in Georgia.  Anomalies ranged from six to more than nine degrees above average.  This is the 13th month in a row with above-normal temperatures for the state as a whole.  Rainfall across the state was well below normal with the sole exception of a…

    Posted in:
  • Drought expands again

    All categories of drought showed a slight expansion in the latest Drought Monitor map.  Particularly worrisome is the re-expansion of severe drought in northern Georgia and back into the western Carolinas.  Warm conditions and an early start to the growing season has taken moisture out of the soil and increased evaporation and evapotranspiration, which has…

    Posted in:
  • The latest monthly climate summary for Florida covering February 2017 is now available.  You can find it at https://climatecenter.fsu.edu/products-services/summaries?id=507.

    Posted in:
  • The latest CoCoRaHS blog summarizes the 2016-2017 winter season that just ended as “the winter that mostly wasn’t.”  If you live anywhere in the eastern half of the country, your temperature this season was well above normal, and even quite a bit of the western US with the exception of the Pacific Northwest was above…

    Posted in: ,
  • The Southeast Farm Press reported today that the official pack date for Vidalia onions is earlier than usual this year due to the warm weather that has been occurring across the eastern US.  The official pack date this year has been set for April 12; Vidalia onions cannot be packed or sold prior to the this date.…

    Posted in: ,