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The latest Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows that the heavy rains we have experienced across the Southeast this week from both Subtropical Storm Alberto and other rain storms has eliminated all drought from the Southeast and has reduced abnormally dry conditions to just a few small, scattered pockets. Since some of the rain fell…
Posted in: Drought -
Researchers from Texas A&M University recently published the results of a study which looked at how scarcer water supplies in the future may affect how producers irrigate their crops. While long-term climate models do not give clear guidance on whether total precipitation will increase or decrease in the future, higher temperatures are very likely and…
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With Alberto moving out of the Southeast and across Indiana today, it’s time to take stock of what damage the winds and saturated soils may have caused to trees on your property. Here is a recent video on how to create storm-resilient urban forests which may minimize future damage. The video is one of of…
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Many people who live in the country have water impounded for use in irrigation, livestock watering, or fishing. With all of the rain we have had in the last few days, water levels in many ponds and reservoirs are quite high. I’ve also seen reports of a potential dam failure in North Carolina due to…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
Every year we hear heartbreaking stories about children or pets that died in overheated cars. Some of them are accompanied by comments that people did not realize how hot the cars could get so quickly. Time magazine posted a story this week about how hot cars can get during heat waves or even in typical…
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The Vegetable and Specialty Crop Newsletter posted a couple of articles this weekend describing some of the problems that producers are dealing with from recent heavy rains, both those associated with Alberto and in rainfall prior to that storm’s visit. As expected, some rain has been beneficial for farmers in the Southeast as parts of…
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Generation of electricity by renewable sources like solar and wind is increasing in the Southeast, but perhaps not for reasons you might expect. Yale Climate Connections reports that the biggest driver of building new solar and wind farms is economic, not regulatory. Some big companies like Facebook and Google are building new facilities in the…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news