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Despite some decent rainfall Sunday, Feb. 15, NE Florida & SE Georgia remains in severe to extreme drought. A reminder that residents - NE Florida & SE Georgia - are restricted to watering only once per week until March 8 when we “spring forward” at which point residents can water up to two times per week.
It is tempting to water more frequently given the look of the St. Augustine grass, but over-watering can be harmful. Most yards that we’re healthy & in good shape entering the winter, should recover relatively well once temps. turn consistently warmer along with adequate (but not too much) moisture.
The weak winter La Nina appears to be waning & a transition to ‘neutral’ is expected over the next few months. With any luck this change in the ENSO might help increase local rainfall by mid to late spring. Forecast models indicate the potential to a switch to El Nino (warming of the equatorial Pacific) by mid to late summer which *could* lower the number of Atlantic tropical cyclones.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) may be facing being dismantled. A comprehensive article * here * from “Physics Today” does a good job of explaining the value of NCAR. Some excerpts:
In December, senior White House official told USA Today that the administration wanted to eliminate the center’s climate-related work and transfer some functions elsewhere. It was the first that NCAR’s parent organization, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), had heard of the plans.
NCAR’s main sponsor, NSF, confirmed the news and announced that it would evaluate how to “redefine the scope” of NCAR’s modeling and forecasting to concentrate on areas like weather prediction, severe storms, and space weather. The agency also said it would explore options to transfer the stewardship of NCAR’s supercomputer, two research aircraft, and Mesa Laboratory.
Many of the news stories that followed highlighted NCAR’s scientific contributions. Other coverage emphasized the center’s climate research. At times, news articles implied that NCAR was a stand-alone climate lab, even though only about 100 of the center’s 800-some employees work in the climate division.
Again - the full story * here *.
Now - March 10 - is the opportunity for comment on extending the South Atlantic (off the Florida coast) Red Snapper season. Typically the red snapper season has been limited to 2 or 3 days a year (much longer on the Gulf side). Info. * here * from Action News Jax. How you can comment - go * here *.