Climate Office News

Fact check: January not as cold or wet as it seemed

The southeast corner of Nebraska hit the snow jackpot this season, after January continued the trend of substantial snowfall amounts across the state. A storm at mid-month resulted in impressive daily snowfall totals of more than 6 inches in certain locations. While the rest of the state received only a few inches of snow for the entire month, places like Nebraska City (20 inches), Tecumseh (18 inches), Syracuse (16.6 inches), Auburn (15.5 inches), the Lincoln area (14 inches) and Omaha Eppley Airfield (12.8 inches) saw copious amounts. For the season-to-date total (since Oct. 1), this portion of Nebraska has seen 2 to 3 feet of snow.

Summit to tackle climate in Nebraska for Nebraskans

Nebraska State Climate Office and Nebraska Extension are bringing the National Climate Assessment 4 to Nebraskans with a summit is planned for March 21 at Nebraska Innovation Campus, 2021 Transformation Drive, Lincoln.

“Climate change is affecting us now, and ultimately, it is a local issue,” said Martha Shulski, director of the NSCO.

December delivered rain, snow, and more rain

Precipitation was the big story for the end of the year in Nebraska. Thanks to several storms that moved across the state, precipitation totaled more than 3 inches for the southeastern section, which is more than twice the normal for December.

Hail Know project receives Excellence in Extension Team award

Hail Know, a project developed by a team of inventive Nebraska Extension faculty, received the Excellence in Extension Team award at the Nebraska Extension Fall Conference Annual Banquet Nov. 27 in Kearney.

Faculty team members from the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture include Roger Elmore, Extension cropping systems agronomist and agronomy professor, Chris Proctor, weed management Extension educator and Daren Redfearn, Extension forage crop residue specialist.

Quarterly: Climate Assessment goes local

Released just after Thanksgiving, the Fourth National Climate Assessment took the media and public by storm with its projections for the climate in the future for regions across the United States. This time, the report went hyper-local. We (along with 12 other authors) had a role in the report’s creation, conducting stakeholder engagement workshops and writing about climate changes already taking place in the Northern Great Plains. But we also highlighted how communities are tackling those issues and how they are planning for the future.

November delivers low temps, lots of snow

November delivered cooler-than-normal temperatures across much of the state. The average was 33.1°F, which is 3.6°F cooler than normal and ranks as 26^th coldest out of the 124 recorded years. Conditions also were dry in the east and soggy in the west, and some areas of the state saw loads of snow.

Cool weather, season-ending freeze and snow highlight October

October began with some record-breaking high temperatures recorded at both Grand Island and Hastings airports. Just a day later, a cold front dropped the mercury and brought snow to some, but all season-ending freezes were recorded statewide by mid-October.

Expect a Stormy Turn with Halloween

The last month has been a challenge for producers to get their crops harvested in a timely manner, Al Dutcher writes for our partners at CropWatch. Precipitation has been a problem for two months, with periodic bouts of extended heavy rain at the end of August into early September and late September into mid-October. This recent stretch of dry weather has finally been long enough for the soybean harvest to make significant progress.

September warm with soaking rains

September brought it all. We saw nearly triple-digit heat, below-freezing temperatures and record-setting rainfall. The mix of conditions slowed harvest for agriculture producers across the state, but also eradicated the remaining drought in the southeast corner of the state.

Read more about how this month’s climate effected Nebraskans in the September edition of the Climate Update from the Nebraska State Climate Office.

Quarterly: Climate issue team addresses crop industry needs

For the past two years, the Nebraska Extension Climate Issue Team has worked to address crop industry needs through workshops, listening sessions and the creation of interactive graphics tied to research-based information. The Nebraska State Climate Office was a key piece in providing the climate trends, projections and scientific information for the discussions.