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Today is the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a large ore-carrying freighter that crossed Lake Superior in a strong mid-latitude cyclone (low pressure center) and foundered just before reaching a safe area. The ship disappeared from radar and was found later at the bottom of the lake. All 29 sailors aboard the…
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The drought in the Southeast is now so bad that even Californians are taking note. Here is an article on current conditions across the region in the Los Angeles Times. Unfortunately, the latest Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows a continued expansion of all levels of drought and abnormally dry conditions across the Southeast. With…
Posted in: Drought -
James Spann pointed out in his blog today that it is Day 52 of no rain in the Birmingham AL area. This ties the record from 1924, and they will break the record tomorrow since no rain is forecast. In fact, if you look down the pike, there is no rain in the forecast until…
Posted in: Drought -
While it’s tough to make hay this year in drought-stricken parts of the Southeast, it is still interesting to read about how they make hay in other parts of the world. Here is a fascinating story about wild hay making in the Swiss high valleys from House of Switzerland: https://houseofswitzerland.org/swissstories/history/wild-hay-making-fascinating-swiss-tradition.
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NOAA has an interesting photo story about how their scientists have been measuring the impacts of Hurricane Matthew on the coasts of the Southeast. This is the first time that the hurricane storm surge modeling scientists have been able to directly observe how well their forecasts did compared to the actual storm surges measured. You…
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Earlier this fall EPA announced that they have updated their web resources on climate impacts in the Southeast. You can find information on trends in temperature and precipitation around the region as well as projections for future conditions at https://www.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-southeast.
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The monthly summary for the US for October 2016 came out today and shows that October was the third warmest on record. The year to date total was the second highest on record after 2012. The ranking maps for October and May-October precipitation are shown below and really highlight the dry conditions in parts of…
Posted in: Climate summaries