Browse Weather Stories - Page 6

July saw the return of normal summertime temperatures to Georgia, but those normal summertime temperatures are still punishingly hot.

Last year’s summer peach crop was disastrous, but Georgia’s peach crop rebounded this summer following colder temperatures in December and January, according to Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources agent for Taylor and Peach counties.

University of Georgia agricultural climatologist Pam Knox has been named interim director of UGA’s network of 86 weather stations across Georgia.

Two consecutive weeks of rainfall in Georgia stunted the growth of the state’s peanut crop and created ideal conditions for diseases in vegetable fields, leaving farmers scrambling to decide what to do next.

Longtime residents of Georgia may remember the devastating floods of Tropical Storm Alberto in July 1994. The rain was so intense that Georgia’s one-day rainfall record was set during that storm: 21.10 inches of rain was recorded in Americus, Georgia, over a 24-hour period ending on July 6, 1994, as the storm stalled over the state. Despite that incredible record and the resulting damage, the National Hurricane Center did not retire that storm’s name. “Alberto” is the first on the list of Atlantic tropical storm names for the 2018 season, which begins on June 1.

Now is the peak time to plant peanuts in Georgia, according to Cristiane Pilon, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension peanut physiologist.

Are your sinuses clogged? Do you feel like you are walking in a sea of yellow dust? Have you washed your car three times this week? Welcome to pollen season in Georgia.

Georgia’s dryland peanut crop excelled this year, while irrigated fields lacked in comparison to past years, said University of Georgia Cooperative Extension peanut agronomist Scott Monfort. The result is a crop estimated to average 4,400 pounds per acre.

Once again, it is that time of year when bucks start chasing does, and deer hunters hit the woods. You guessed it: It is time for the rut, or breeding, season. But the question to be answered is, “How do biologists predict when the rut is going to be?”

Cooler temperatures are needed this winter to avoid another disastrous peach season, according to Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension County coordinator in Taylor and Peach counties.