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Occasionally I’ve been asked what is the difference between astronomical seasons and meteorological seasons. Deke Arndt of the National Centers for Environmental Information has a nice simple write-up that explains the difference at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/meteorological-versus-astronomical-seasons. EarthSky also has a good description of what the autumnal equinox is at https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-september-equinox.
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Since today is the first day of fall, the Southeast Regional Climate Center has provided a page with links to foliage reports across the area and the country. You can visit it at https://www.sercc.com/foliage.
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September 23 marks the autumnal equinox, which means the official start of astronomical fall (remember, climatological fall started on September 1). The official time of the equinox is 4:20 AM Eastern Daylight Time. EarthSky had an article this week discussing why day and night are not equal on the day of the equinox which you might find interesting.
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The Southeast Regional Climate Hub has produced a new comprehensive document describing the Southeast’s vulnerability to changing climate and methods for adapting to and mitigating for the effects of those likely changes. It includes impacts on crops, livestock, and forests across the region. You can read the document at https://climatehubs.oce.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Southeast%20Vulnerability%20Assessment%20Final.pdf.
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PBS Newshour put together a 4 minute video describing some current research by UGA professor Merryl Alber to study what happens to coastal marshes when you change them from fresh water to salt water. This is expected to happen as sea level continues to rise in the next century. You can see the video and read…
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Modern Farmer posted a story this week about a new tea farm, the first one to be planted in Mississippi, although there are currently several in Hawaii, a few in the Pacific Northwest and one in South Carolina. Even though tea has traditionally been grown in tropical areas with warm and humid climates, the tea plant…
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Recently I posted a story about nuisance flooding and its projected increase for parts of the Atlantic coast due to El Niño as well as rising sea levels. Here is a good FAQ on what nuisance flooding is and why it is important (link).