You may have read in the news earlier in May that NOAA has updated their “normals” for temperature and precipitation at stations around the country. In climatology, normals are the calculated averages over a specified time period. Usually, we use a 30-year period to capture what the average weather is like in a time period … Continue reading When normal isn’t normal
How did your garden fare this year? No matter how it grew, at least some of the impact was due to this year’s weather, although careful soil preparation and a good watering plan can fend off some of the worst effects. As usual, my last blog post of the year will be a brief review … Continue reading Goodbye to another weather year–2025 in review
This time of year, I frequently notice the change of the sun’s daily position over time, since my family room faces east. This is especially true as most of my trees on that side of the house are deciduous—as the leaves fall, I get a better look at where sunrise is actually occurring and how … Continue reading Let the sun shine!
The cooler weather that many parts of the eastern United States are experiencing this week is causing many gardeners to think about what this fall will be like. In fact, many farmers in Georgia are already planting fall crops, and I am sure that many gardeners are also busy with their own fall planting if … Continue reading Getting Ready for Fall: What do the long-range outlooks tell us?
If you’ve been paying attention to the weather across the United States this past week, you may have noticed that most of the eastern U. S. is experiencing extremely hot temperatures, especially when you factor in the effects of humidity. At the same time, in the western U. S., it has been snowing in the … Continue reading Fire and Ice: Why the East is baking while the West is freezing
In the last few weeks NOAA has declared the end of the weak La Niña that has been present in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the return to neutral conditions. I want to take time today to discuss what it means for our summer growing season in the United States. I will also provide some … Continue reading The end of La Niña and what we expect in this summer 2025
How did your garden grow in 2024? Was it a lush playground full of beautiful flowers and plentiful produce? Or was it a sere landscape of brown, wilted foliage? How your own garden fared in 2024 was certainly dependent on where you live, what you had planted, and how you took care of it, but … Continue reading 2024 in Review and a look ahead to 2025
If you find yourself singing “How Dry I Am” these days, you might be under the influence of a large, stationary area of high atmospheric pressure. This past month, most of the eastern United States has been trapped in this pattern, with warm temperatures, clear skies, and no rain at all for most of the … Continue reading Feeling high and dry?
For those of us in the Southeastern United States, this past week has been a whirlwind of preparation for Hurricane Helene, followed by the terrifying storm itself and now, for some people, months of clean-up and houses, yards, and gardens that may never be the same. My post this week (I did not get to … Continue reading Getting ready for an extreme weather event
In my blog post last month, I mentioned the likelihood of having a very active Atlantic tropical season, especially because the ocean surface temperatures are so warm. But despite an early start to the season with the first three named storms (including Beryl, the earliest ever category 5 storm in the Atlantic Ocean), it’s been … Continue reading Dust in the wind