Buresh

"Buresh Blog": Yulee tornado post storm survey - Aug. 9th

By Michael Buresh
By Michael Buresh

Aug. 9, 2016 — An isolated relatively strong & long track tornado -- for this time of year -- occurred Thu., Aug. 4th when an isolated storm over Nassau Co. dropped a tornado east of I-95 & just inland from the intracoastal.  The tornado was on or near the ground for 17 minutes, 4 1/4 miles & was nearly 200 yards wide.  Some form of damage occurred to 40-50 homes.  The storm developed on warm, moist southwesterly flow over Northern Duval Co. near 1pm.  Moving northeast, the storm was intercepted by the westward moving sea breeze which helped the storm intensify.  For a brief moment at the peak of the t'storm's lifecycle, low & mid level shear was just right to help produce the tornado.  Action News Jax Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Garrett Bedenbaugh was the first on the air in Jacksonville tracking the intense storm.  Subsequent exclusive photos & video were produced via "the only-in-the-market" Sky Action News Jax + First Alert Storm Tracker.  Click ** here ** for maps, radar images & photos from our Jax N.W.S.

The annual Perseid meteor shower will peak early Fri., Aug. 12th.  Look overhead & in the northeastern sky.  At least a few meteors will be visible at least several days either way of the peak.  There's the potential for an "outburst" - a surge of meteors that could reach 150+ per hour!  You can spot the meteors with the naked eye - here's hoping for clear skies!  Images below from "EarthSky":

EARTH GAUGE (National Environmental Education Foundation):

Weather & Summer Produce, Sarah Blount

Before you head to the market this week, check the weather! Weather and climate conditions play a big role in the production of summer produce, affecting the taste, size, and quantity of fruits and vegetables available during the warmer months.

The US produces a lot of blueberries—more than half a billion pounds of this native fruit were harvested in 2015 alone! Within the United States, cultivated blueberries predominantly come from Washington, Oregon, Georgia, Michigan, and California, with most of the wild production occurring in Maine.  These berries are weather-dependent, but their crucial time is way before the summer days where they appear in your local market. In the fall and winter, blueberries require about 1,000 "chill hours," or time with temperatures below 45°F but still above freezing. The berries themselves will not grow until this requirement has been fulfilled, so an unusually warm winter can throw berry season into disarray, as you may have seen in Florida earlier this year(link is external).

The United States is the second-largest producer of tomatoes in the world, growing tomatoes that will make their way across the world for both fresh and processed purposes. While tomatoes are produced in every US state, if you’re buying fresh tomato at the market in the United States, it’s likely that the veggies are coming from either Florida or California, which routinely contribute two-thirds to three-fourths of all commercially produced fresh-market tomatoes in the country. However, while these two ends of the nation are traditionally the heavy-hitters, your best bet for price is going to be in August due to the availability of local tomatoes in your region. Although these veggies come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, they all thrive in weather with temperatures between 79 and 85°F during the days, and 65-70° at night during their summer growing period. If there’s a cold snap during these traditional warm months, or a scorcher that brings the average temperatures out of this range, the fruit set (the size of the fruit) and the taste and overall quality can be negatively impacted.

A true summer staple, fresh sweet corn seems to find its way to the table throughout the warm months, whether cut into individual kernels or eaten straight from the cob. Of the more than two billion pounds of sweet corn produced each year in the United States, the majority is grown in California and Florida, with significant contributions from Georgia and Washington. These veggies need lots of water, using about a quarter of an inch of water per day during periods of rapid growth. If the area where the corn is growing experiences water stress, or is the temperatures are high enough that too much moisture is being wicked out of the soil and the plants through evapotranspiration, fewer ears of corn may develop, and those that do emerge may be underformed. To avoid getting a bad ear at the market, look for corn with fresh green husks and soft, golden silk. The silk-ends should not have any signs of decay, and the kernels should look moist, plump, and bright in color. Once you’ve purchased your corn, put it on ice! The sugars in corn begin to turn into starch as soon as the corn is picked, but you can delay the process and keep your corn sweet by refrigerating—and eating—your corn as soon as possible.

Sources:

A major flash flood in the Baltimore area July 30th after intense summertime thunderstorms -- see the N.W.S. post storm survey by the Sterling, Va. N.W.S.  How to recover from flooding ** here **.

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