7/7/2014 CISA & CoCoRaHS Condition Monitoring Newsletter - July 2014

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Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments July 2014

CISA & CoCoRaHSCondition MonitoringNewsletter

Dear CoCoRaHS Observer,

This year, many of you have reported weather anomalies inyour area and their impacts on local water levels, water quality,businesses, farms and your backyard gardens. In this editionof our newsletter, University of South Carolina professor, JimBarilla, reflects on ways we can begin to think about gardeningas climate change causes weather conditions to become lesspredictable. You will also find information about this year'shurricane season outlook as well as great condition monitoringreports from fellow observers. Be sure to check out the new CoCoRaHS condition monitoringwebpage at: http://www.cisa.sc.edu/CoCoRaHS.html.

Your efforts are essential to our work. Thank you so much forparticipating in CoCoRaHS condition monitoring research.

Sincerely,The CISA Team - Amanda, Ben, Janae, Katie, Kirsten and KirstinCarolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments

Gardening for Climate Change

In a recent interview on Public Radio International (PRI), JimBarilla, University of South Carolina professor and author of

My Backyard Jungle: The Adventures of an Urban Wildlife

Lover Who Turned His Yard into Habitat and Learned to Live

With It, talked about ways we can begin to think aboutgardening as we face the uncertainties associated with

In This Issue

Gardening forClimate Change

Spring & SummerPhotos Wanted

2014 AtlanticHurricane SeasonOutlook

State of theCarolinas

Quick Links CISA Website

CoCoRaHSConditionMonitoringWebpage

Cuckoo forCoCoRaHS in theCarolinas Blog

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climate change.

This past winter's polar vortex in which warm dry spellsfollowed periods of cold or wintry weather disrupted how hetraditionally tended to his garden. He often found himselfrushing to cover his plants with freeze blankets one week thenwatching them grow andbloom the next. He alsonoticed how the fickleweather affected the timingand development of plants.For example, Barilla grewseveral types ofblueberries that werecultivated for variousclimates. Those adaptedfor Florida's climate began to bloom in January but wereeventually damaged by the intense winter weather. However,blueberries that were more appropriate for the mid-Atlanticregion now have fruit.

These kinds of disruptions prompted Barilla to consider abouthow we all can start thinking about gardening for climatechange. He believes that one of our first challenges will be toreconsider "what belongs where." For instance, non-nativespecies are not always invasive and some can actually benefitlocal ecosystems. Barilla believes that we need to createclearer distinctions between these two types of species andthink about how non-native species can help us adapt toclimate change.

The good news is that most plants affected by this pastwinter's weather have bounced back. Barilla thinks this givesus hope because none of the changes we've experienced sofar have been what he calls "apocalyptic". He urges us tofigure out ways to "embrace and guide the change" now sothat we will not be forced to make drastic transformations toour way of life in the future.

Your reports often note the kind of changes Barilla has seen inhis garden. We urge you to continue to submit reports that notethe effects of weather anomalies on plants, animals and yourlocal economy.

Read more about Jim Barilla's thoughts on cultivating resilientgardens in his New York Times opinion piece, "Gardening forClimate Change".

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Spring & Summer Photos Wanted

Spring and summer weather bring new opportunities tophotograph weather and moisture conditions in your area. We're asking observers to submit photos that show howprecipitation (or the lack of) impacts your community. Photosalong with credits will be used in our blog, website andnewsletter. Please send your submissions to cisa @sc.edu. Don'tforget to include yourname, a description ofyour photo and the date itwas taken. We lookforward to seeing howweather is affecting yourcommunity!

2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook shows thelikelihood of fewer than average hurricanes this year. Theforecast is primarily based on several factors:

1) The likely development of El Niño in the summer and earlyfall.

2) Near-average and below-average sea surfacetemperatures in the eastern and central Atlantic.

When combined, these conditions tend to disrupt hurricaneformation in the Atlantic Ocean. This conclusion is supportedby historical records that show below-normal hurricaneseasons when similar conditions existed in the past. However,smaller numbers doesn't necessarily mean less intensity. Forexample, in 1992 the hurricane season resulted in onesubtropical storm and only six named storms, one of whichwas Hurricane Andrew.

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http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/hurricane-season-forecast-2014-colorado-state-university-20140409

One of the key messages in the new National ClimateAssessment report's chapter entitled, "Changes inHurricanes", emphasizes the increase in duration, frequencyand intensity of North Atlantic hurricanes and the number ofCategory 4 and 5 hurricanes since the 1980's. Astemperatures continue to rise, increases in rainfall measuresand storm intensity are expected to persist.

Hurricanes can directly impact communities through flooding,wind damage and tornadoes. Hurricanes can also alleviate dryconditions that typically occur during the summer and fall.Although these types of drought buster events can bebeneficial, pollutants that have accumulated onto buildings,pavement and soil are often flushed into rivers and streamswhich can threaten water quality. These types of secondaryimpacts can affect local and regional economies.

Hurricane-related impacts can be added to your conditionmonitoring reports. Descriptions of damages to habitats andstructures, changes in water quality and responses of localresidents and businesses are all valuable types of informationfor drought research and a great way to enhance the data yousubmit to CoCoRaHS.

The State of the Carolinas

Your condition monitoring reports in June reflected the heat,dryness and frequent afternoon rain typical for this time of year.We enjoy reading about how your gardens and yards are

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weathering these conditions. We would also like to see howyour communities are faring. Is the heat causing more peopleto stay indoors? Is dryness creating fire dangers? How is theweather affecting local businesses? These are just a fewideas to help you think about additional observations you canconsider. Below are some great reports from fellow observers.Enjoy!

6/1 - Polk County, NC This past week we received 0.93 inches of liquid precipitation.The majority, 0.84 inches, fell on the 30th in thunderstormactivity in the late afternoon. We irrigated our orchard on the29th. There are currently no standing pools of water on theproperty. The first few inches of soil are damp currently. Noapparent stress on any plants is noticed. Firefly activity isdecreasing. There are no sightings of adult Japanese beetlesyet.

6/6 - Pickens County, SC Ground is dry to the point where garden plants will need to bewatered. Area streams and creeks slightly below normal.

6/11 - Aiken County, SC Total rainfall for the month of May here in North Augusta was5.09" this was +2.44" above average for the month. Averagerainfall for the month of May is 2.65" Rainfall so far this monthfor June has been 1.01" Average rainfall for June is 4.72" Juneis usually our wettest month of the year. So far, Rainfall hasbeen scattered across the CSRA. I have only measuredrainfall 3 days so far this month. I know that others havereported much more rainfall than what I have measured. I havebeen out to the local Strawberry farm every week for the past 7weeks for fresh picked berries. I picked strawberriesyesterday and I noticed that the soil was very dry out there. Thesoil was so dry that there were large cracks that were bigenough for me to put my whole finger down into.

Last night a Severe Thunderstorm rumbled through the region.Total rainfall with this storm was 0.66" Many trees came downin the town of Belvedere just south of here. In myneighborhood, there was just some small tree limbs that camedown. My highest wind gust during this storm was measured at35 MPH. There were some tree limbs that fell from the treesthat were dead from the ice storm back in February.Temperatures have been near steady in the low to mid 90'ssince June started. Yesterday, June 10th was the hottest dayso far with a high temperature of 95 degrees. Tomato plantscontinue to grow taller in the garden. Green tomatoes are

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appearing on the plants. My yellow cherry tomato plant hasproduced a handful of ripe yellow tomatoes. I look forward tomore tomatoes as the summer continues. My garden soil isvery soggy right now after last night's severe thunderstorm.

6/17 - Wake County, NCDry and hot. Husband doesn't think we need rain, but I surethink so. Yard needs it more than fields/ woods. Potted /garden plants suffering/wilting, though many especially oneswith irrigation are bountiful! Vegetable gardens yieldingsquash happily. Strawberry pickin' was good fun in May,though probably petering out now. Blueberries andblackberries reportedly coming in.

6/24 - Beaufort County, SCThis past week has been hot and dry with 0.05" of rain - untillast night when we received 1.22" of rain to replenish the dryconditions. Gardens wet, lagoons up, and the rain barreloverflowing! With 6 days left in the month, we need another0.96" of rain to meet our month's average.

6/28 - Perquimans County, NCDitchs have not dried. Have not had to water garden. Cropslook good with more rain predicted.

Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments 803-777-6875

cisa@sc.edu | www.cisa.sc.edu

University of South CarolinaDepartment of Geography

709 Bull StreetColumbia, SC 29208

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