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The latest Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows that a second area of moderate drought has been added to Alabama this week along with an expansion of last week’s drought. Abnormally dry areas have also expanded. In Florida, more than half the state is now considered to be in abnormally dry conditions after receiving little…
Posted in: Drought -
Some of you may know that normal temperatures are averages calculated over a 30-year period. The current “normal” period is 1981-2010, but that is due to change later this year when the climate records for 2020 are finalized after quality control and the new averages are calculated by NOAA. The new normals should be released…
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Today is Groundhog Day, and the major news outlets all have stories about the cute little marmot who is supposed to predict the climate for the next six weeks. It’s always a day that drives meteorologists crazy (although I do like the movie). A study of how often they are right range from 50 percent…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
In another Vegetable and Specialty Crop News story, watermelon producers in South Florida are watching to see how recent cool and windy conditions will affect their newly planted seedlings. Rapid temperature changes and windy conditions can lead to more diseases which can affect the strength of the stems, leading to yield losses. Farmers in South…
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The colder temperatures this winter have made fruit producers happy as the accumulated chill hours have been very good for peach and blueberry production. Continued cold conditions for the next couple of weeks should help make most varieties meet their needed chill hours this year without too much trouble. The biggest concern at this point…
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Did January 2021 feel cold to you? It did to me. I must be getting old! In spite of my perceptions, though, it was actually warmer than normal in most of the region, especially in the nighttime temperatures. Rainfall across the region varied, with some areas receiving rain from storms that passed through the area…
Posted in: Climate summaries -
The latest monthly climate outlook for February 2021 was released this week. It shows that the monthly pattern is expected to look mainly like a La Nina pattern with the warmest and driest area confined to Florida. But the Climate Prediction Center’s outlook for the beginning of the month looks like it will be quite…
Posted in: Climate outlooks