June 1st marked the beginning of meteorological summer (i.e., June, July, and August). Time between sunrise and sunset is still increasing, temperatures are increasing, and vegetation is growing. How did this past spring compare to climatology and what is expected over the next several months? Let us start with May’s climatology. May’s average temperature across[Read More…]
Climate and Weather
Over the last 30 days (April 3 – May 2), average temperatures ran below normal for most of the state (Figure 1). Southern Indiana temperature departures were near normal to 1°F below normal. Larger temperature departures (1 – 4°F below normal) were observed in central and northern Indiana. Many areas experienced their first 80°F or[Read More…]
High winds can cause serious damage to high tunnels and greenhouses. Design and construction with this in mind is important to reduce risk. In this article the topic is day to day risk management for a structure that is already constructed. When strong winds threaten, closing up the endwalls and sidewalls can help reduce risk.[Read More…]
On the third Thursday of every month, the national Climate Prediction Center releases their 3-month climate outlook for temperature and precipitation. These outlooks are presented as the level of confidence (i.e., probability of occurrence) for conditions to be above or below normal. Since last fall, these outlooks have been consistently favoring above-normal temperatures and precipitation[Read More…]
Indiana’s been seeing a lot of rain lately, while avoiding severe weather such as hail, tornadoes, and strong winds. Will this mild pattern continue, or could things shift soon? The southern states along the Gulf coast have been experience what has seemed like non-stop severe weather with tornado watches (if not warnings) becoming almost a[Read More…]
February has brought all kinds of precipitation to the state and now conditions are muddy if not flooded. Will this continue? The national Climate Prediction Center just released their 1-month and 3-month climate outlooks for March and March-May periods, respectively. Both are conveying the same story, which is heavily influenced by our ongoing La Niña[Read More…]
The last several weeks have certainly been warmer than normal. Figure 1 illustrates just how warm with some parts of Indiana almost 7°F above normal over the past 30 days. That is quite incredible, however not many records were broken over this period. Climate outlooks for the next several weeks are indicating that above-normal temperatures[Read More…]
Well, it was a nice 4 weeks with no drought or abnormally dry designated areas across the state. Unfortunately, the lack of rain over the past few weeks have led to browning lawns, cracked soils, and other tell-tale signs that drought may be returning. The US Drought Monitor has designated three areas in Indiana as[Read More…]
In the last several days I have received complaints of pumpkin plants with yellow leaves. Growers want to know if the yellow is a symptom of disease and what can be done about it. Yellow lesions on leaves may be symptoms of disease. There can be many reasons why pumpkin plants have yellow leaves. Usually,[Read More…]
It is amazing to think that some part of Indiana has been in at least the Abnormally Dry category of drought on the US Drought Monitor for over a year. While it has not always been the same parts of the state, certainly northern Indiana has been the most consistently dry. Recently, however, the state[Read More…]