It is hard to imagine, but the flash floods and thunderstorms that took more than two dozen lives over the last week in Texas and Oklahoma, and washed away hundreds of homes, could provide good news for drought-stricken California… “What this exemplifies is something that applies to climate variation in the short and long term,” said Anthony Broccoli, a professor in the department of environmental sciences at Rutgers University. “That one particular pattern may produce weather conditions viewed favorably in one place and less favorably somewhere else.”… Broccoli called this a seesaw effect that has long occurred in the US, with mild and dry winters on the west coast sometimes meaning cold and stormy winters on the east coast.
Archives for May 2015
Pathways’ Jersey Fresh Harvest Day at Harrison School
The North Plainfield School District’s Pathways Program, a career-readiness program for special education students in ninth through 12th grade, held a Jersey Fresh Harvest Day on May 29 at the Harrison School. The event, which was attended by administr…
This Has Been a Month of Extreme Weather Around the World
Even for a world getting used to wild weather, May seems stuck on strange. Torrential downpours in Texas that have whiplashed the region from drought to flooding. A heat wave that has killed more than 1,800 people in India. Record 91-degree readings in Alaska, of all places. A pair of top-of-the-scale typhoons in the Northwest Pacific. And a drought taking hold in the East… “Mother Nature keeps throwing us crazy stuff,” Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis says. “It’s just been one thing after another.”… Francis, Meehl and some other meteorologists say the jet stream is in a rut, not moving nasty weather along. The high-speed, constantly shifting river of air 30,000 feet above Earth normally guides storms around the globe, but sometimes splits and comes back together somewhere else… A stuck jet stream, with a bit of a split, explains the extremes in Texas, India, Alaska and the U.S. East, but not the typhoons, Francis says.
How is the Drought Affecting You?
“There are obvious effects such as brown lawns and low stream flow, but there’s no significant long-term danger yet, as long as we get some rain soon,” NJ 101.5 Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said today… State Climatologist Dave Robinson of Rutgers University says water conservation is a rapidly developing concern. Naturally, this could affect things like gardening, pool use and sprinklers.
‘Amazing’ 5 Inches of Rain in Toms River
Talk about ground zero for torrential rainfall. An “amazing” 5-plus inches of rain fell in a very localized area of Toms River in a few hours Thursday, causing flash flooding, according to the state climatologist… Rainfall totals include 5.24 inches and 4.6 inches in southeastern Toms River, 2.54 inches in the southeast corner of Berkeley, 2.76 inches in Pine Beach, 2.37 inches in Seaside Heights, 1.08 inches in eastern Lacey and only 0.09 inches at Robert J. Miller Airpark in western Berkeley, according to David A. Robinson, the state climatologist who is based at Rutgers University… Robinson said there were some scattered storms on Wednesday and sometimes there are little boundaries in the atmosphere, so “you develop this intense, very isolated storm and it just didn’t have much in the way of steering currents, so it sat in place.”
From Rainy Texas to Scorching India, This Has Been a Month of Strange Weather Around the World
Even for a world getting used to wild weather, May seems stuck on strange. Torrential downpours in Texas that have whiplashed the region from drought to flooding. A heat wave that has killed more than 1,800 people in India. Record 91-degree readings in Alaska, of all places. A pair of top-of-the-scale typhoons in the Northwest Pacific. And a drought taking hold in the East… “Mother Nature keeps throwing us crazy stuff,” Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis says. “It’s just been one thing after another.”… Francis, Meehl and some other meteorologists say the jet stream is in a rut, not moving nasty weather along… A stuck jet stream, with a bit of a split, explains the extremes in Texas, India, Alaska and the U.S. East, but not the typhoons, Francis says.
New Jersey Faces ‘Moderate Drought’ Conditions
State Climatologist Dave Robinson of Rutgers University says the latest drought monitor issued Thursday morning puts North Jersey in the “D-1,” or moderate drought category… The combination of the lack of rainfall and the warmth has really depleted the water supplies,” Robinson said… Robinson said most of New Jersey can be characterized as abnormally dry, after very little rainfall in May and very warm temperatures. He said the state is on track for one of the warmest and driest Mays on record.
New Brunswick Community Farmers Market to Open for the Season on June 17
Healthy, fresh produce, local honey and meat and freshly baked goods will be ready for purchase as of June 17, when the New Brunswick Community Farmers Market officially opens for the season at its Kilmer Square Park location in the downtown… The mar…
Is N.J. on the Verge of its First Drought in a Decade?
No alarm bells are sounding, not just yet. But with each passing day of dry and hot weather, anxiety grows among New Jersey farmers and officials who fear the state may be on the tipping point of its first drought in more than a decade… “A worrisome situation is becoming all the more so each day,” said David Robinson, the state climatologist at Rutgers University. “The next two weeks are likely a critical juncture for us. If we get into the second and third week of June without some regular rainfall we’re going to start to see impacts multiply pretty quickly.”… Things are particularly concerning in northwestern New Jersey, where groundwater and stream flow have been exceedingly low for several weeks. Robinson said this may not produce immediate impacts, but it severely restricts the amount of water flowing into reservoirs as the state moves into its peak water usage months.
HSRL Scientist and Collaborative Team Get Winter Flounder Essential Fish Habitat Designation Changed and Helps Maritime Businesses in South Jersey
Winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, support an important commercial and recreational fishery along the northeast coast of North America. Highest abundance occurs in the most northern part of their range. However, populations have declined significantly since the 1980s as a result of climate change, poor water quality and estuarine habitat loss. Due to warming ocean temperatures, […]