I’m sure most of you have noticed the change in the weather pattern in recent weeks. I’m not talking about the seasonal change that comes every year that it is cooler, but instead the frequency of precipitation. We seem to have a disturbance or two each week. Each spot gets differing amounts of rain and… Read more Changes Continue
September Moods
One of the major changes from August to September is precipitation type. Not in the sense of rain to snow, too early for that change, but instead from thunderstorms to just rain. In turn, the precipitation tends to be more widespread with rain amounts also being a bit more uniformed. You will still get spot… Read more September Moods
La Nina Chatter
If I had a dollar for everyone that asked me about La Nina in the past week, no I wouldn’t be rich, but I would probably have enough to take myself out for a decent meal. In other words, I’ve been asked a couple of dozen times, not a lot, but still enough that what… Read more La Nina Chatter
Switched
If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know one of my favorite sayings is the old English proverb “there is no debt so surely met, as wet to dry and dry to wet”. There are some portions of the region that have recorded 5 plus inches of rain in the past week… Read more Switched
Perception
Weather statistics can be looked at from many directions. For example, the recent rains have pushed several North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network, or NDAWN, stations to near or even above average for precipitation this summer. If someone was going to look at just the seasonal totals several years from now, would they think this summer… Read more Perception
Early Frost Part 2
Yesterday in this blog, I mentioned at the moment it doesn’t look like a very early freeze will occur this year like we recorded in early September 2020. Looking at the past, such an early freeze is historically unusual, so just playing the odds would favor not recording a freeze as early as the region… Read more Early Frost Part 2
Early Frosts
I am sure that most of you have not forgotten the very early freeze the region experienced in the fall of 2020. September 7 and 8 of 2020 was so cold that it effectively ended the growing season last year. The summer of 2020 was a warm one, meaning plenty of growing degree units, but… Read more Early Frosts
Dipping Averages
Average temperatures now are starting to decrease and I’m sure most of you have noticed the length of daylight is also decreasing. We are quickly approaching that time of year when we lose 2 or 3 minutes of daylight each day. With that loss of daylight comes slowly cooling temperatures which of course is why… Read more Dipping Averages
Briefly Cool
Although a cool day on top for the region, the heat will be quickly moving back into the region. Yet, this time the heat is somewhat associated with a pattern change. A trough of low pressure, think of it as a dip in the jetstream will be occurring in the Pacific Northwest forcing some heat… Read more Briefly Cool
Upgraded Stations
The North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network, usually referenced as NDAWN upgraded three stations in the past couple of weeks. These stations are near Oakes, Robinson and Hazen North Dakota. The upgrades to these stations include soil moisture data, something that has become more important during this dry summer. Plus, those stations will have snow depth… Read more Upgraded Stations