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Climate.org has taken a look at the climate conditions that helped lead up to the fires in Colorado a week or so ago. The area started unusually wet, which allowed the grass to grow lush and tall. Then a drought came and that region of Colorado ended up in extreme drought. It did not take…
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A good amount of rain fell in the Carolinas and Virginia this past week. This resulted in a significant decrease in dry conditions, including a big decrease in severe (D2) drought. Most of the abnormally dry (D0) conditions were removed from Georgia. Very small increases in moderate (D1) drought were seen in Alabama and a…
Posted in: Drought -
A new study published in Nature Geoscience indicates that in a warmer climate, the latitudes at which hurricanes can form are expected to expand, so that in the future tropical storms and hurricanes may be able to form farther north than they do now. This is based in part on the expansion of 80 F…
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One method for producers to adapt to a changing climate is to either grow new crops or to use hybrids that grow better in the new climate. Here is a story from Growing Produce that describes recent efforts in New Zealand and Spain to produce new apple varieties that are better adapted to warmer climates…
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Fruit farmers in the Southeast have been concerned about the very warm temperatures in December and hope that more seasonal temperatures will return in January. The peaches and blueberries need a certain number of hours (called “chill hours”) below 45 F to set a good crop of fruit for harvest next year. This year’s number…
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The monthly climate summary for North Carolina by Corey Davis was released today in their climate blog. It describes the very warm monthly temperature (more than 6 degrees above normal) and the spread in precipitation between the mountains and the coastal plains. You can read more about it at Unwrapping an Unseasonably Warm December –…
Posted in: Climate summaries -
Did you read about the fires that destroyed over 1,000 houses in the northern suburbs of Denver this past week? While the loss of life is low (only two people missing) because of the unbelievable work of emergency personnel to evacuate ahead of the flames of the grass fires, the devastation is tremendous. I spent…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news