All Kinds of Double-Takes on Weather Today and Next Week (Jan. 25, 2014)
go.ncsu.edu/readext?268722
In this Strawberry Weather Alert
- A. Introduction – who is warmer?…can you believe Fairbanks > Atlanta (at this time in the afternoon on Sat. (1:30), Anchorage is 35 F and NYC is 28 F
- B. SC Grower comments on why he applied covers again – he went with his “gut”
- C. State by State freeze reports
- Wed (1/29) will be the minimum temp day this next week, and we’re talking 3 F in Farmville VA, and Clayton will be 10 F – that was my doubletake this morning! As cold as it is going to be in VA this week, it is unlikely they will break the records set in the winter of 1940. On Jan 29, 1940 it was -12 F in the area of Moseley Va.
- Our next 30-Day Outlook will be posted Sunday evening (Jan 26)
Fig. 1. At 8:45 this morning I happened to hear this report on the Weather Channel about Fairbanks, Alaska being warmer than Atlanta, Georgia.
A. Introduction:
Who is warmer? Apparently, temperatures up in Fairbanks, Alaska, today will be warmer than Atlanta. Maybe Alaska would be better than East Rutherford, NJ for Super Bowl XLVIII?
Doubletake this morning…
I thought I was reading my SkyBit for a location in VA (Amelia) this morning, but when I doublechecked, it was Clayton (see below). Clayton now has a 10 degree canopy forecast for Wed (1/29) and Thu (1/30). Previously , SkyBit was calling for 19 F on Wed morning.
B. SC GROWER comments on why he applied row covers on this second go round…
C. State by state freeze updates as of 1 p.m., Jan. 25 (Sat):
1. NC Update: NC AWIS Jan 25 to Feb 1
Fig. 3. Minimums for NC Sunday morning. Light blue is 10-12 F. Dark green is 12-14 F
Fig. 4. Colder temps return Mon night/Tue morning
Fig. 5. Temperatures “crash” Wed morning (1/29). Teal colored area is 8-10 F.
2. SC Update: SC AWIS Jan 25 – Feb 1
3. VA Update: VA AWIS Jan 25 to Feb1
Fig. 6. VA minimums tomorrow morning
Fig. 7. VA minimums Tue morning
Fig. 8. VA and Mid-Atlantic minimums Wed morning. Central VA will be in the 5 to 10 F range.
Here is the actual VA SkyBit I receive daily for a location (Amelia) that is west of Richmond. This farm will have 5 F in canopy on Wed and 9 F on Thur (1/30). The record low for 1/29 is -12 F (1940) and -3 F (1940).
Here is the 5 day forecast for Chesepeake area in VA – note that it will be 10 F on Wed
AWIS Hourly Forecast For Chesapeake-Ches, VA Produced at 11:49 a.m. CST on Sat Jan 25 2014 Day-Length = 10:11 / Sunrise at 7:12 a.m. / Sunset at 5:23 p.m. Local Forecast For Saturday January 25, 2014 Hour 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 MIN= 12 MAX= 45 TEMP 12 13 13 14 15 15 15 16 20 26 32 35 38 42 43 45 45 43 41 39 39 38 37 36 DEWP 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 7 7 7 6 5 3 1 2 2 2 6 9 12 14 15 16 15 WETB 10 11 11 12 13 13 13 14 17 21 25 27 29 31 32 33 33 32 31 31 31 31 30 29 WNDS 2 3 5 7 9 9 10 11 13 16 20 20 20 20 20 20 18 18 17 16 16 15 14 14 WNDD S S SSW SW SSW SW SW WSW CLDC CLR CLR FEW BKN OVC OVC BKN CLR INV 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 DEWF POP6 0 4 4 4 4 25 25 7 Q1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Local Forecast For Sunday January 26, 2014 Hour 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 MIN= 21 MAX= 36 TEMP 34 32 31 29 27 25 23 21 23 25 28 29 31 33 34 36 36 35 33 31 31 31 32 32 DEWP 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 7 5 3 1 0 -1 -2 -1 -1 -1 6 9 12 31 31 17 18 WETB 28 26 25 24 22 21 19 18 19 20 22 22 23 25 25 27 27 27 26 26 31 31 27 28 WNDS 13 11 10 9 7 7 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 WNDD WSW WSW W W SW S S S CLDC CLR CLR CLR SCT BKN FEW SCT SCT INV 1 2 2 2 4 4 5 7 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DEWF F F POP6 7 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 Q1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Local Forecast For Monday January 27, 2014 Hour 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 MIN= 29 MAX= 50 TEMP 32 31 31 31 32 32 32 33 32 36 40 42 45 47 50 50 50 43 36 35 34 33 32 31 DEWP 20 20 21 21 23 24 25 27 27 27 28 28 28 28 28 29 28 26 25 24 23 22 21 19 WETB 28 27 28 28 29 29 30 31 30 33 35 37 38 39 41 41 41 37 32 31 30 29 28 27 WNDS 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 9 10 14 14 14 13 13 13 13 14 15 17 17 17 16 16 WNDD S SSW SSW SW WSW NW W SW CLDC SCT BKN OVC OVC OVC BKN BKN BKN INV 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 DEWF POP6 3 8 8 30 30 0 0 0 Q1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Local Forecast For Tuesday January 28, 2014 Hour 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 MIN= 23 MAX= 27 TEMP 30 29 28 26 25 24 23 23 24 24 25 26 26 26 27 27 27 23 18 18 17 16 16 15 DEWP 18 17 16 14 13 12 11 10 10 9 8 8 7 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 WETB 26 26 25 23 22 21 20 20 20 20 21 21 21 21 22 22 22 19 15 15 14 14 14 13 WNDS 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 18 18 17 16 16 16 15 15 14 13 13 13 11 11 10 9 9 WNDD NNW NNW NNW NNW NNW NNW W SW CLDC BKN BKN SCT BKN BKN FEW FEW FEW INV 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 DEWF POP6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Q1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Local Forecast For Wednesday January 29, 2014 Hour 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 MIN= 10 MAX= 33 TEMP 14 14 13 12 11 11 10 10 14 18 22 24 27 30 33 33 33 28 22 21 20 19 18 17 DEWP 4 5 4 4 3 4 3 3 3 4 4 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 WETB 12 12 11 10 9 10 9 9 12 15 18 19 21 23 26 26 26 22 18 17 16 16 15 14 WNDS 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 9 8 7 7 6 5 5 WNDD WNW NNW NNW NNW NNW NNW SW W CLDC FEW FEW CLR CLR CLR CLR CLR CLR INV 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 DEWF POP6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Q1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Where: TEMP = Air Temperature (F) DEWP = Dewpoint Temperature (F) WETB = Wetbulb Temperature (F) WNDS = Wind Speed (MPH) WNDD = Wind Direction (Compass Direction Wind Blowing From) CLDC = Cloud Cover CLR = Clear skies [< 5% Cloud Cover] FEW = Few clouds [5-25% Cloud Cover] SCT = Scattered clouds [25-50% Cloud Cover] BKN = Broken clouds [50-87% Cloud Cover] OVC = Overcast clouds [87-100% Cloud Cover] INV = Inversion Temperature (F) at 50-150ft above ground DEWF = Dew/Frost (D=dew; F=Frost; Blank is dry) POP6 = Probability of Precip (% Ending 6 Hour Period) Q1 = Quantitative Precip (Hourly / Hundreths of Inch)
4. GA Update: GA AWIS Jan 25 to Feb 1
5. TN Update: TN Jan 25 to Feb 1
6. KY Update KY Jan 25 to Feb 1
Lexington will see – 5 F on Tue morning!
7. MD Update
Editor’s final note: it looks like we are going to be locked into these below normal cold temperatures until the start of February, so we still have some time for informational exchanges about how these very long durations of cold temperatures may impact the crop. I got a very long note from one SC grower yesterday who did not elect to apply covers, and so I am anticipating some interesting observations on our crop in a few weeks, after we get past Arctic Blast #2. As promised, next Monday I will return to Tom Baker’s question of last week on how this winter season may be influencing harvest dates? Recall, this is what Tom asked on Jan 24:
“I don’t remember a winter with so much prolonged cold. I guess my question is:
When it does warm up, will strawberries get “back on schedule” for picking to start here ~ May 1 or, even if normal temps return by mid-Feb or early-March, do you feel we are looking at a later season? Our school field trip manager (Amanda) wants to know!”
Have a good evening!
Barclay
p.s. special thanks to Eric Hunter for his comments in today’s advisory!
p.s.s. I was so disappointed not to have been invited last week out to Half Moon Bay, CA for the Mavericks surfing contest.
Fig. 9. Unknown contestant in Mavericks surfing contest – hanging 15?