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You have probably read here or elsewhere that NOAA just updated the normals for climate data across the US. They went from the 1981-2010 averaging period to the 1991-2020 averaging period. The results for most of the country were that the new normal temperature was higher than the old ones, and precipitation also went up…
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In the Southeast, we are observing changes to the water cycle as temperatures increase. We see both more intense rainfall events and more droughts. California is also seeing this and observing that the changes in climate are also leading to changes in pests and diseases, which the farmers there treat with pesticides and herbicides. But…
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The next week looks dry for most of the Southeast, with the exception of light showers in the Carolinas and heavier rain on the southern tip of Florida. The big action is going to be to our west, where several inches could fall in Texas and Oklahoma over the next few days. A big ridge…
Posted in: Climate outlooks -
According to the latest ENSO blog by NOAA, La Niña is now officially over and we have returned to neutral conditions as of May 13, 2021. NOAA forecasters estimate about a 67% chance that neutral conditions will continue through the summer. The ENSO forecast for the fall is less confident, with odds of a second-year…
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The latest monthly global climate summary for April 2021 was released today by NOAA. It shows that for the earth as a whole, this was the 9th warmest April since records began in 1880. This in spite of the fact that we are just coming out of a La Nina (that was declared today too),…
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The latest Drought Monitor, released today, shows that a new area of moderate (D1) drought was introduced to parts of South and North Carolina this week. They have been missed by most of the recent rains that wiped out the dry conditions in Alabama and Georgia. The drought in South Florida expanded very slightly but…
Posted in: Drought -
The Dust Bowl era caused tremendous losses to farmers in the central US in the 1930s. The reasons for the occurrence of the Dust Bowl are complex, but one of the factors that caused the loss of soil and farms was the method that producers used to farm at the time, which broke up the…