-
While fires burn up the vineyards in northern California, wineries in France are also having problems due to the weather. Conde Nast Traveler reported this week that France is expected to produce its lowest amount of wine in 60 years. According to the story, “the drop in wine production is traced back to spells of…
-
Field and Stream posted a very interesting story recently on how building a dike around Lake Okeechobee has affected the Everglades and the fish and wildlife that live there. The result of stopping the free flow of water through the area, partly for flood protection after a devastating hurricane and partly for agricultural purposes, has…
-
The wet winter in California, which spurred the growth of plants, and then the drought of recent months and the strong winds in the region have all contributed to the spate of wildfires across the region, resulting in the loss of 17 lives so far, the destruction of over 2000 buildings, and effects on many…
-
Are you tired of hot, humid conditions? Ready for some of the cool stuff? I can’t change the weather in the Southeast, but I can give you a preview of when typical winter conditions begin, thanks to Barb Mayes Boustead, Steve Hilberg, and Martha Shulski via Twitter. You can read more about their work at…
Posted in: Climate science -
The latest NOAA monthly summary for the US for January through September 2017 shows for the continental US, it was the third warmest on record, behind 2012 and 2016. The record for September put it in the top third of all Septembers since 1895. The year to date precipitation was the wettest on record, beating…
Posted in: Climate summaries -
This year’s harvest of peanuts, along with what was harvested in previous years, is so large that it is expected to surpass the amount of available storage, putting farmers in uncharted territory. Weather had a lot to do with both the high yields and some of the problems that peanut farmers have had to deal…
-
The Denver Post wrote a long article this week about how farmers in eastern Colorado continue to use water from the Ogalalla Aquifer even though it is being rapidly depleted. How long will they be able to keep it up? And what will happen to grain production in the central US once they can no…