Tag Archives: Climate

Was March colder than normal?

Nearly everyone is happy to see March 2013 end, as it was an unusually persistent cold month. In fact, Madison ended up 7.4 degrees below normal for March 2013 making it the 18th coldest March in the city’s history. Madison had only four days when the average temperature was at or above normal. Of course, March 2013 followed on the heels of the warmest March ever in March 2012 when the daily average temperature was 16.1 degrees above normal. Continue reading

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Just how snowy has it been these past six weeks?

It sure has been a snowy last few weeks. As of Jan. 1, 2013, Madison had officially received only 32.4 inches of snow — nearly half of which (15.2 inches) was delivered in our Dec. 19-20 snowstorm. However, since Feb. 1 we have accumulated 30.8 additional inches of snow (as of March 14). Continue reading

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How can it feel humid during a drought?

The drought that began in the spring of 2012 is actually an extension of the 2010 drought. The recent February storms have lessened the current drought, which covered 80 percent of the lower 48 states of the United States with at least abnormally dry conditions. The economic impact on the Midwest has been estimated to be more than $35 billion. Continue reading

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How do citrus farmers battle the cold?

Last week was one of the coldest of the season in the southeast United States. Though not as bad as prior cold air outbreaks in late January or early February, such events have been known to present a substantial threat to the citrus industry in Florida. The problem is that when the temperature gets below freezing, the fruit itself can freeze rendering it substantially less valuable to the market. Continue reading

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How are climates classified?

There are a few ways to classify climates. The plant hardiness zones often published with seed packages are one way to group climates. That approach is based on minimum wintertime temperatures but is limited in its usefulness because a good climate map should include reference to more than one weather variable. Continue reading

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