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For meteorologists and climatologists, March 1 marks the first day of spring. Spring is the season when severe weather really ramps up in many parts of the country, although in the Southeast we can and do get severe weather any time of year. In recognition of this, the National Weather Service has provided us with…
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The Southeast Farm Press reported earlier this month that the 2015 tobacco crop was a near disaster to producers. Fewer plants than usual were planted and the market was down, but the real culprit was bad weather in many of the tobacco-growing areas of Kentucky and North Carolina. Wet conditions followed by drought and a…
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The Packer reported this week that supplies of strawberries from California and Florida should be good going into Easter this year (link). In a separate article they also reported that although Florida’s supplies of early blueberries were limited due to poor winter weather, supplies of later blueberries, including those from Georgia, should be good (link).
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One of the ways that humans alter climate is by changing the land use of a particular region, leading to changes in the energy balance locally. Some climatologists believe that the Southeast has lagged other parts of the country in warming due to the change from widespread bare ground crops like cotton early in the…
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This year is leap year, which means you will probably be reading this on February 29. This date comes around every four years in general, although we did not have one in 2000. The need for a leap year is due to the timing of the earth’s orbit around the sun. Here are some resources…
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The Fruit Growers News reported this week that Alabama peach growers are concerned about the lack of chill hours this year. You can read the article at https://fruitgrowersnews.com/news/alabama-peach-growers-hope-for-cooler-weather/. Some of the problems with the lack of chill hours are a reduction in fruit set and a longer bloom period, which could mean that at harvest growers…
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The Great Falls Tribune reported this week on the results of a new study released by the Montana Farmers Union on how changing climate will affect ranching and farming in Montana in the coming years. You can read the article here or the full report here. The article says “The report projects a 20 percent drop in…