Climate and Ag in the news
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With sheltering in place now in full swing, the number of airline flights across the US has dropped significantly. What you might not know is that many of these flights provide important and detailed weather information that is fed into weather forecast models, improving their accuracy. With less flights in the air, that means there…
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The National Ag Statistics Service produces frequent reports on crop conditions and planting progress around each state. In winter the reports only come out once a month, but during the growing season they come out weekly. They are based on information sent in by Extension agents around each state, and are used for a variety…
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It would not be surprising to hear that the warm and dry winter has caused problems for Florida peaches this year, but apparently this is not the case. Vegetable and Specialty Crop News posted a story this week that said that Florida peaches were ahead of normal this year and that many are being harvested.…
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A new study published in 2019 shows that tropical cyclones and hurricanes are strengthening more rapidly in recent years than in previous decades, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. A second article shows that the poorer island nations are bearing the brunt of these rapidly developing storms, leading to devastating consequences. Both studies…
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The El Nino-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is the single most important predictor of seasonal climate in the Southeast, so we tend to watch it fairly closely to see if it can give us clues to future conditions. But researchers have found that a shift in ENSO patterns has reduced our ability to make useful predictions.…
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Since many people are working from home now, including most students, I thought it might be helpful to provide some links to educational material about weather and climate. Today I watched a fantastic live stream on Facebook from the Capital Weather Gang about atmospheric optics like rainbows and mirages, and that is archived along with…
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Vidalia onions are one of Georgia’s signature crops, and every year the Vidalia Onion Committee and the Georgia Department of Agriculture set a release date based on the crop readiness, weather conditions, and other factors. This year they have set the date for the release of the onions as April 16, and consumers are already…