Drought

  • Several of my Facebook friends posted this MODIS satellite image of the smoke in northern Georgia today.  Spectacular and troubling!  All of the smoke from several fires is blending to create significant haze across the area.  The smoke has caused problems with visibility on highways and respiratory issues for people with asthma and other lung…

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  • Clint Thompson of the University of Georgia wrote an article last week discussing Georgia’s current drought and the outlook for this winter and next year.  It quotes heavily from me but also provides insight from other UGA extension specialists and agents.  Here is the article as printed in Growing Georgia today.

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  • At dinner tonight my husband asked me how the current drought compared to 2007.  So here’s a little look at the similarities and differences between the two droughts. In some respects the two droughts look very similar.  At this time of year in early November, both of them showed a spatial pattern that covered the…

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  • “Hello, La Niña!”

    Today NOAA put out a La Niña Advisory for conditions in the eastern Pacific Ocean.  This advisory replaces the La Niña Watch that has been active on and off for the last few months.  This means that colder than normal water temperatures have been present along the equator in the eastern Pacific Ocean for long…

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  • The drought in the Southeast is now so bad that even Californians are taking note.  Here is an article on current conditions across the region in the Los Angeles Times. Unfortunately, the latest Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows a continued expansion of all levels of drought and abnormally dry conditions across the Southeast.  With…

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  • James Spann pointed out in his blog today that it is Day 52 of no rain in the Birmingham AL area.  This ties the record from 1924, and they will break the record tomorrow since no rain is forecast.  In fact, if you look down the pike, there is no rain in the forecast until…

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  • So many places in the Southeast are extremely hot and dry that meteorologists on The Weather Channel are calling it the “Desert Southeast” these days, according to today’s WunderBlog here.  Birmingham AL is on day 50 of no rain with no end to the record-setting streak in sight.  Many other stations have had little to…

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