Weather - Athens Georgia
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Athens Area Weather Stations
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Seasonal Creep
Have you noticed over recent years, spring is arriving a lot earlier? It is true! Trees in Georgia are generally blooming earlier than they have historically. Data…indicate a clear trend of "seasonal creep"—where spring arrives earlier and fall arrives later.
The Risk: The danger in Georgia isn't just the early bloom; it's the Late Spring Freeze. Because the average temperature is higher, trees "wake up" during a warm week in February, but the atmospheric variability still brings a frost in late March, which can kill the peach crop or ruin the hydrangea blooms.
Read more from Glenn Burns on Facebook.
USA-NPN "Status of Spring" map.
Winter Weather
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Hurricanes
Treetops Emit Ultraviolet Sparkles During Thunderstorms.
Researchers Just Filmed It in Nature for the First Time. These outbursts—called coronae—are typically too faint for human eyes to detect. But since they also emit light at ultraviolet wavelengths, scientists were able to use a special setup involving a UV camera to document them outside of a laboratory.
— Smithsonian magazine
Mackerel Sky
This is a beautiful shot of a Mackerel Sky! The specific clouds you're looking at are Altostratus.
These are "middle-altitude" clouds, typically found between 6,500–20,000 feet. They look like small, white or gray patches or "clumps." Unlike higher Cirrocumulus clouds (which look like tiny grains of rice), these have distinct shading and look larger, about the width of three fingers when you hold your hand at arm's length toward the sky.
They form when a large sheet of air is lifted and then cooled, breaking into these individual cells or rolls due due to different wind speeds at different altitudes.
In folklore, this is often called a Mackerel Sky because the pattern resembles the scales on a fish. Usually a sign of rain in 24-48 hours.
From Glenn Burns on Facebook.
Stratus Fractus
That striking, straight-edged formation is known as a stratus cloud (specifically a stratus fractus or a low-level altostratus bank), but the phenomenon of that perfect, sharp line is often referred to as a "Cloud Front" or a "Sharp Edge" cloud.
That perfectly straight line isn't a single cloud, but rather the boundary between two different air masses.
You are looking at a front where dry, stable air is pushing against moist air. The moisture is forced to condense exactly at that boundary, creating a "wall" of cloud.
Because you are viewing it from a distance, the flat base of the cloud layer appears as a sharp diagonal line due to the Earth's curvature and your angle of perspective. Very cool !
From Glenn Burns on Facebook.
The End of Mosquitoes
While a cold snap might feel like it should be the "end" for mosquitoes, the reality in the Southeast is a bit more complicated. Most mosquitoes don't actually die off; they just hit the "pause" button.
Here is how they survive the Southern winter:
The 50-Degree Rule
Mosquitoes are cold-blooded and cannot regulate their body temperature.
Below 50°F: They become lethargic and generally stop flying or biting.
At Freezing (32°F): Most adult mosquitoes will die if they are exposed, but they are experts at finding "micro-climates"—protected spots like crawlspaces, hollow logs, or thick leaf litter—to stay just warm enough to survive.
Hibernation (Diapause)
Many species in states like Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas enter a state called diapause. They essentially "hibernate" by slowing their metabolism to a crawl. They can stay in this state for months, waiting for a string of days above 50°F to wake up and start biting again.
"Winter-Hardy" Eggs
Even if a severe freeze kills every adult mosquito in your yard, the population is usually safe. Many species lay eggs in the fall that are designed to survive sub-freezing temperatures. These eggs can sit in dry or frozen dirt all winter and will only hatch once the spring rains arrive and the water temperature rises.
So the bottom line is, the skeeters will be back, regardless of the cold.
From Glenn Burns on Facebook.