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With two freezing events in March after a very warm winter that got plants blooming almost a month earlier than normal, there was bound to be some damage. Fortunately, even though some orchards with early-blooming varieties of peaches were hit hard, later-blooming varieties were hit less hard and should produce a delayed crop. The decrease…
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The latest monthly climate outlook was released by NOAA earlier this week. It shows that the region is expected to be warmer than normal. Northern AL and the mountains are also slightly leaning towards wetter than normal conditions based on the current weather pattern. The drought in and near Florida is expected to persist and…
Posted in: Climate outlooks -
The very heavy rain that California has experienced this year has provided many challenges for agricultural producers this year. Many orchards have been flooded, leading to suffocation of the tree roots due to lack of air in the soil, and farmers have not been able to do any field work for weeks due to the…
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The latest 7-day QPF map shows a continuation of the pattern that we have seen quite often during the winter, with the heaviest rain falling in northern AL and GA and the Southern Appalachians and stretching off to the northeast and drier conditions in Florida and southern AL and GA. Once the front that is…
Posted in: Climate outlooks -
The preliminary climate summary maps for March 2023 show that the entire region was warmer than normal, although not as far above normal as February. And this was in spite of two separate periods of frost and low temperatures in the middle of the month. Most of the region was also drier than normal, although…
Posted in: Climate summaries -
As the climate changes, farmers can become more resilient by adding new crops to their portfolio of choices. One I read about today is elderberry. Another is pongamia, a hardy tree that grows in Florida’s subtropical climate and serves as a source of oils, a soybean-like protein source, or a fertilizer feedstock, according to the…
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Drought increased significantly in Florida this week with the introduction of extreme (D3) in the peninsula, which was largely skipped by rain this week. Moderate (D1) drought also expanded in eastern Virginia this week. North Carolina saw increases in abnormally dry conditions. Other states saw only minor changes in drought status this week. Puerto Rico…
Posted in: Drought