By Clint Thompson
Weather conditions heated up this week across the Southeast. A lack of rainfall in certain areas created a warm environment for specialty crops.
Pam Knox, University of Georgia Extension agricultural climatologist, discussed the current warming trend across the region.
“We’ve been in this cold and persistent pattern where it seems like it’s rained almost every weekend in the Southeast. It looks like the pattern is now switching and we’re going to go back into a time period where temperatures are going to go up. I think we’re going to see growing degree days increase a lot more,” Knox said. “They’ve been slow to act, but I think we’re going to see a lot of growth in things like corn and anything else that’s in the ground. Since we have had more rain, I don’t see any immediate worries about a flash drought or anything like that. If you look at the Climate Prediction Center, it shows that we’re likely to be warmer than normal but also above normal in precipitation.
“(This) week was quite warm. It was more of a summertime pattern. There will be some showers, but they’re going to be more hit or miss. Some areas may see some dry conditions, where others may get a little bit more. I think that’s likely to last for the first couple of weeks into the third week of May.”
According to weather.com, temperatures are expected to stay in the mid-to-upper 80s through the first part of the week in Tifton, Georgia, and then drop to the high 70s later in the week. There is also a moderate chance of an isolated or scattered thunderstorm through Thursday.