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Last year at this time, an unexpected early season blizzard in South Dakota killed over 40,000 head of cattle. Many ranchers were caught unprepared by the unseasonable weather and had not moved their cattle to their winter pastures yet, which increased the losses. Cattle were also still in summer coats and were soaked by the…
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Meteorologists often hear folks say that they are the only people that get paid whether or not they are right. In reality, weather forecasts have improved immensely over the years and a five-day forecast now is as accurate as the two-day forecasts were a couple of decades ago. This is due to improvements in computers,…
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A recent study published by the University of Florida shows that soils in the warm and moist conditions of Florida and the Southeast can sequester extra carbon from the atmosphere, helping to reduce greenhouse gases. Carbon is pulled out of the air by crops, mesic upland forests, pine lands and areas converted from pine forests…
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Drought decreased slightly across south Georgia as heavier than normal rainfall brought some relief to dry areas but also hindered farmers trying to get field work done and slow. According to the National Drought Monitor, the percent of the state covered by drought decreased from 20 percent to 15 percent. In Atlanta, the monthly average…
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The climate summary for Florida for September 2014 is now available. You can get to it by clicking on https://climatecenter.fsu.edu/products-services/summaries/climate-summary-for-florida-september-2014 If you are interested in reading more about the work of the Florida Climate Center, you can see their latest newsletter here. The North Carolina climate summary for September can be found at https://nc-climate.ncsu.edu/climateblog?id=100&h=5666e5c1
Posted in: Climate summaries -
Hydrologists often use the period from October 1 to September 30 as the “Water Year” to describe rainfall over time. They choose this period because it is the end of the summer depletion of soil moisture and the average start of the fall and winter recharge period. Often, the end of the water year corresponds…
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There have been a number of interesting stories on the impacts of rain and drought in the last couple of weeks. Here is a sample: Farmers in South Dakota are struggling with production issues after a record-setting wet June. Some farmers have reported total losses in some fields due to standing water and others are…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news