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Still hot and dry?
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Posted by
njoasis 7 (
My Page) on
Fri, Aug 31, 12 at 15:47
| 92 F. Today without a cloud in the sky. Thought the dry would ease as there was some rain a few days ago. Driest time of year here, September through October, beautiful weather though. Looks like rains are coming to some areas thanks to Isaac but drought seems to e expanding in mid-Atlantic into Northeast. Winter was dry, Spring was dry, Summer was moderately dry but no official drought and it is generally very wet here. Some trees are dropping there leaves so they must be stressed. Haven't been watering trees as it as been borderline but ground water must be deteriorating at this point. How do you know when you need to consider watering? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| NJ 30 day precip departure |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| NJ 60 day precip departure |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| NJ 90 day precip departure |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| Anyway, bottom line is it really hasn't been dry in most of NJ. Parents have racked up close to 5" of rain for the month down near Trenton. That was after almost as much during July. The only dry summer month was June down there. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Precip departure maps
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| Not near Trenton here. Much of the rain seems hit or miss. I checked with data from the Nat. Weather Service so you can get real local. I knew it wasn't my imagination, I was doing yard work and could see the dryness to the soil. Local data show that precip. for August was two inches below normal and July was one inch below normal. (Saw just 2.5 inches in August.) When I see deciduous trees dropping leaves, I assumed it had something to do with water/heat stress. Those rain deficits were not huge, but it has also been a fairly warm summer so net result must be ground is drier than normal. No? But meteorology aside, what environmental cues do you use to tell if watering is useful? |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| Well, anyway as far as your question about drought, they use the average precip and obviously the maps show its pretty decent, so you won't be getting any drought declarations. |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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- Posted by whaas 5a SE WI (My Page) on
Fri, Aug 31, 12 at 17:32
| I don't know how accurate AccuWeather is but I just did my zip codes's 120 day rain total May 1st through August 30th. Down a staggering 73% from average precipitation. I was told this is the best way to communicate your drought as some areas have different averages so actual totals don't mean much. It equates to down 11" May to August. I'd be doing backflips and summersaults if I had any NJ's rain totals. Farm, do you have the link to WI? That site is loaded with great info but is so flipping tough to find. |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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- Posted by whaas 5a SE WI (My Page) on
Fri, Aug 31, 12 at 17:37
| NJ, you are actually in one of the least drought stricken states within the United States. Consider yourself lucky. |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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Here's the higher resolution version, though its partly based on radar estimates:
http://water.weather.gov/precip/index.php?yday=1346371200&yday_analysi
s=0&layer[]=0&layer[]=1&layer[]=4&timetype=RECENT&loctype=STATE&units=
engl&timeframe=current&product=observed&loc=stateWI |
Here is a link that might be useful: Wisconson precip estimates
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| No drought declarations but still in annual deficit by 3-6 inches according to the map below. Aside from official drought declarations, how do you know when it is time for supplemental watering? |
Here is a link that might be useful: US Rainfall Deficits
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| Most of that deficit was from February and March. In the west that might matter... not really in NJ. |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| Here where I live we're at an 8 inch rain deficit. I've been watering my trees at least twice a week all spring and summer, and they're flourishing. I doubt any of them would have survived with irrigation assistance.. Watering them has been a real drag and something I was not prepared for in terms of what a commitment it would take. It's taken up a lot of my time, but they're an investment that I take seriously. |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| In New Jersey, I would not worry about irrigating MATURE trees unless 1) There was a 1-month precipitation deficit of more than 3 inches. 2) They were being attacked by a disease or insect. In NJ, trees should be adapted to the climate, especially if they are mature. At least, that's my opinion. Even out here, I've only planted specimens which can take Nevada's brutally dry climate (which of course, greatly limits what I can plant). |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| From what I've read, New Jersey and the east coast generally are in for a good soaking from Isaac remnants. +oM |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| C'mon. I live in Hudson county, the NJ county with the greatest deficit for the last 30 and 60 days according to the charts above, and it really wasn't bad this year. I think the rainfall was spread out more this year so we never got in a situation when it was 95+ degrees for 3 weeks straight with no rain. Also, in recent years NJ has been way above average in rainfall so it may seem dry this year compared to recent memory. The link below is the one I check when I'm concerned about rain. It contains links to the charts above as well. |
Here is a link that might be useful: NJ drought site
RE: Still hot and dry?
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- Posted by whaas 5a SE WI (My Page) on
Sat, Sep 1, 12 at 20:04
| Farm, thanks for the link! |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| Hurtle, if it has been so good, why does my rear lawn look like late November? Very large American Elm and another tree in back have lost their leaves. Not on my property, town land but I took it as a sign of water/heat stress of some sort. Maybe they are dying for another reason. Thanks for the detailed data Famartin. I we refrain from watering for time being. |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| I don't know about New Jersey but for our local weather I use wunderground.com. Search for your area in the search window at the top of the wunderground page. When you have the page with the weather conditions for the area where you live, scroll to the bottom and find a weather station near your house that records the weather. Each of these weather stations give charts for the day, week, month, and year. Depending how long the station has been in existence you may be able to go back several years. |
RE: Still hot and dry?
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| Yes, I knw about weather underground--great site! Very, very different weather pattern seems to be getting started with lots of daily downpours in the forecast into the extended. I don't think most of it is even from Isaac. Mosquitos are going to explode in numbers now on the downside. |
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