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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 -
Do you think that we are the coldest in the winter months because the Earth is farther from the sun in those months than in our Northern Hemisphere summer? Actually, Earth is closer to the sun in January than in July because of its elliptical orbit around the sun. The difference in solar radiation is…
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While the beginning of January 2022 was much warmer than average (Athens was 27 degrees above normal this weekend!), once the cold front passes we should see a period of much cooler air. It’s not going to be frigid, but a few degrees below normal, so it will feel a lot more like a Southern…
Posted in: Climate outlooks -
I had a great break over the holidays and was able to fly up to Michigan to spend some time with my mom. We even saw a little snow! Parts of the Southeast are likely to see some snow in the next day on the back side of the cold front that is moving through…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news