Latest news with #NationalPhenologyNetwork
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Invasive insect's eggs to hatch before May
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — An invasive insect is returning to Ohio. Officials are asking Ohioans to keep their eyes peeled for the spotted lanternfly, a pretty but destructive invasive insect. The spotted lanternfly was first identified in the Buckeye State in 2020. It's an invasive plant hopper that can easily be mistaken for a butterfly. Columbus launches multi-lingual, video enhanced 911 system According to the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Franklin County was among 12 counties in the state under quarantine for the spotted lanternfly last year. It was also among six counties in the state with high infestation rates. Brian Heath, district manager for Davey Tree, said he anticipates this year will be even worse. The spotted lanternfly's biggest food source is the tree of heaven, but it's also known to feed on grapes, hops, stone fruits and other agriculturally important plants. The National Phenology Network's spotted lanternfly forecast projects eggs will hatch in central Ohio within the next week or so, with adults expected to emerge in about two months. 'If you see the egg mass on the tree, which kind of looks like mud or bubblegum that might be stuck to the tree, you can scrape that off and dispose of it, put it in a bag with some rubbing alcohol or something like that to make sure that it kills it,' Heath said. Ohio University composts nearly 100% of campus food waste Spotted lanternflies lay their eggs wherever they can on things like trees, bushes and patio furniture. When they eat, they produce a fluid called honeydew, which can be attractive to flies and wasps and can further damage plants. 'That falls on to leaves or anything below the tree, could be pavement, concrete, patios, things like that,' Heath said. 'When people are going to notice this is either when they touch it and it's sticky, or when it turns black because of sooty mold, which is a fungus.' According to Heath, being proactive is key. He suggests calling in an expert for preventative treatment before eggs begin hatching. Despite setbacks, businesses, leaders confident Intel project will thrive 'It would be, you know, a certified technician coming out and most likely injecting a systemic insecticide into the soil, which then gets taken up into the tree,' Heath said. 'So when the spotted lanternfly tries to feed on the tree, it basically will poison it and it'll die.' Spotted lanternflies are also known to be hitchhikers. They can't fly, but they can jump and climb. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources recommends taking your car through the car wash before traveling, especially if you find yourself in an area that's highly infested. Anyone who finds a spotted lanternfly is encouraged to squash it and report it to the Ohio Department of Agriculture. To report a sighting, visit this link. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
04-04-2025
- Climate
- Boston Globe
Weather mailbag: Has spring arrived early? Is La Niña over?
Q: Are we in an El Niño, La Niña, or transition? What does this mean for the rest of spring and summer? — Michael S., Upton A Advertisement We are now seeing a transition from La Niña to 'neutral' conditions, which means sea-surface temperatures and winds across the equatorial Pacific off the west coast of South America are close to their long-term average. All signs point to this neutral pattern sticking around through the summer, which actually makes it a little tougher to predict how things will fare with our temperatures and precipitation over the next several months. El Niño and La Niña offer clues to how our pattern typically unfolds, and when there is no dominant pattern like that in place, the level of variability in our localized weather patterns increases, meaning that it's a bit of a coin flip as to what kind of weather we will see. The last time we saw a Advertisement It's also worth noting that the average sea-surface temperature across the northern Atlantic Ocean is nearly a half-degree cooler than last year, which could result in less intense coastal storms that might develop this spring and into summer. But keep in mind, the ocean is still very much warmer than the climatological average. Q: I'm excited for spring to be here, but looking back, could it ever be too cold to snow? — Carl P., Hingham Hopefully, we're done with snow for the season, and we can look forward to increased sunshine and time spent outdoors. But this is a very interesting question, and one I hear occasionally. There really isn't an environment on Earth where it would be too cold for it to snow because the atmosphere always holds some level of moisture, which plays a larger role in snow formation than temperature. However, the colder it gets, the harder it is for snow to form. Snow forms, of course, when the atmosphere is cold enough and filled with enough moisture for crystals to form. It doesn't snow often when temperatures fall below zero because usually air that cold doesn't hold much moisture to condense out. Local weather patterns can certainly make it snow with temperatures below zero, but the shape of the snow changes. The colder it is, the less snow crystals can grow, leading to fine snow pellets versus large fluffy snowflakes. Advertisement The coldest place on Earth away from Antarctica still sees snow at times. In Oymyakon in eastern Siberia, where winter temperatures average -58 degrees, it still snows. Q: I'm seeing some flowers bloom now and wanted to know if first leaf and bloom have occurred early this year? — Stacy N., Taunton New England saw quite a Some new data from the This map shows how far spring leaf out has spread north across the country, as of April 2. National Phenology Network Have a question on a weather topic that you'd like to ask the Globe weather team? Let us know what's on your mind! To send in a question or comment, email You can also stay in touch with the weather team by to receive our that will arrive straight into your inbox bright and early each weekday morning. Ken Mahan can be reached at
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Longer Growing Season Means Longer Allergy Season In 172 Cities
We'll likely be saying 'bless you' a few more times in the springs to come as temperatures warm and the growing season lengthens. The growing season is now more than 50 days longer than it was in the 1970s in cities like Medford, Oregon, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, according to a new analysis from Climate Central. In Reno, Nevada, the season is now more than three months longer. When we talk about the growing season, this is the period that is bookended by a lack of freezing temperatures. In the case of Reno, that means there are 96 more days between the last freeze of the spring and the first freeze in the fall than there were decades ago. The biggest changes in growing season are found in the West, Southeast and Great Lakes. The smallest changes are in the Midwest to the Rockies. The growing season lengthened in 87% of cities that Climate Central looked at and the season was lengthened by nearly three weeks on average across all cities. (MORE: Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on our Premium Pro experience.) Of course, growing plants means more pollen too. This season is just beginning to bloom across the South as you can see below. Both tree pollen and grass pollen are pushing northward as temperatures warm. After a slow start in Florida, these blooms are slightly earlier than average this year across parts of the South and Southwest, according to the National Phenology Network. Longer pollen seasons are bad news for anyone with respiratory illnesses like asthma and inflammation. The longer growing season can mean days to weeks of extra sneezing, coughing, itchy and watery eyes and runny noses. If you're like me, that also means a lot of extra allergy medications. (HEALTH HUB: Find help for Psoriasis, Eczema and Diabetes here.) Spring has warmed in nearly every city across the Lower 4, according to an analysis completed by Climate Central earlier this year. Furthermore, spring has warmed by 2.4°F on average. Spring has warmed the most in the Southwest and East. In areas shaded in the darkest salmon tones, temperatures have warmed at least 4°F in the last half-century. These warmer temperatures don't just cause more pollen, but they also worsen the risk of wildfires, bring more pests and cause less snow to fall in areas that need it for their water supplies. Jonathan Belles has been a graphics meteorologist and writer for for 8 years and also assists in the production of videos for The Weather Channel en español. His favorite weather is tropical weather, but also enjoys covering high-impact weather and news stories and winter storms. He's a two-time graduate of Florida State University and a proud graduate of St. Petersburg College.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Record Warmth Awakens Spring's First Leaves, And Unleashes The Pollen
Has this warmup across the South made you wish for an early spring? Or you are dreading the thought of spring and the boxes of tissues you will go through from seasonal allergies. Despite what the groundhog says or not, spring doesn't officially arrive until March, however, the warm conditions convince the leaves and blooms otherwise. Depending on where you live in the country, spring doesn't follow a special date on the calendar to make the switch. (For even more granular weather data tracking in your area, view your 15-minute details forecast in our Premium Pro experience.) The National Phenology Network (NPN) tracks the arrival of an early spring, the first leaves that pop out (AKA 'leaf out') and the first blooms. And while it's far too early for the first signs of spring to show across much of the country, for the South it's a different story. Spring ran two to three weeks late across the Gulf Coast. Much of this is most likely due to the extreme cold and snow that impacted this region during January. However, now the tables have turned as temperatures have been on the rise. This week, areas across the Deep South have experienced record warmth. New Orleans set a record at 82 degrees on Thursday. Lubbock, Texas not only tied their February record Monday by hitting 91 degrees, but it was also nine days earlier than their previous record earliest high in the 90s in any year (Feb. 12, 2017). The city also hit daily record highs on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday. Oklahoma set a state record high for any previous Feb. 3, according to the Oklahoma Mesonet project. The recent spring-like temperatures have woken up the leaves across the south, and even caused some of the leaves to pop early for areas in north Texas, southern Arkansas, northern Mississippi and Alabama. Even areas in the southern metro of Atlanta are starting to see those first leaves pop a few weeks early. Also, some areas across California are experiencing those first leaves. According to the NPN, these areas typically see an early spring every one to four years, so it's not uncommon for the leaves to start popping early, however, you'll have to wait a while longer for the bluebonnets to bloom. If you are looking for those first blooms, it's not quite time. The only areas seeing blooms right now are in south Florida, but let's be honest, flowers are always in bloom there! Do you have your box of tissues ready? Pollen season is also starting to rear its ugly head across the South. While the highest pollen counts are still contained in central Florida and right along the Gulf Coast, as the warmer temperatures stick around, the pollen will be increasing in the coming weeks. (MORE: Check Here To See Highest Pollen Counts) In Melbourne, Florida, pollen is already starting to show up on people's cars. The National Weather Service office in Melbourne posted this photo on X (formerly Twitter) showing the yellow pollen and crediting the live oaks as the leading pollen producer this spring season. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) shows the warmth continuing across the South, with the warmer temperatures creeping into portions of the mid-Atlantic in the coming weeks. Cold weather seems to hang onto the northern tier of the country for the time being as well as New England. (MORE: Start Planning Your Garden Now) Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.
