Sunday, July 8, 2012
Second Donnelley Cottonmouth last spring (2012)
Friday, April 13, 2012
Cape Fear Odyssey
(an item of personal interest)
http://theborderlife.com/Caper-Fear-Odyssey.php (an essay by Riverdave)
http://theborderlife.com/Caper-Fear-Odyssey.php (an essay by Riverdave)
Copperhead Bite and Sassafras
(an item of far-too-up-close-and-personal interest)
http://theborderlife.com/Copperhead-Bite--and--Sassafras.php
An essay by Riverdave that appeared in Explore Magazine (a Duke University publication), Spring 1992.
A Naturalist Guide Explores Piedmont North Carolina in the Tradition of Thoreau.
http://theborderlife.com/Copperhead-Bite--and--Sassafras.php
An essay by Riverdave that appeared in Explore Magazine (a Duke University publication), Spring 1992.
A Naturalist Guide Explores Piedmont North Carolina in the Tradition of Thoreau.
Monday, April 2, 2012
snakes, birds and gators are enjoying the early spring
Record High Temperatures for SC south coast April 2
Gusty northwest winds this afternoon ahead of an approaching back door cold front suppressed any possibility of a sea breeze even at the coast today, and may have added a slight touch of compressional (adiabatic) warming to help push readings a little higher than was expected. The Charleston airport reached 91 degrees - which broke the record for April 2 of 90 degrees set just six years ago. The temperature reached 94 degrees around 3:30 pm EDT today at Edisto Island, and the Charleston Executive Airport (Johns Island) also recorded a high of 94. .
On March 29th we came close to 90 degrees for the first time this year - with a high of 89 at Edisto Island. The 87 degrees at Charleston tied the record for that date, set in 1985.
Keep in mind that the area near the coast from just south of Charleston to the Savannah River (which includes Edisto Island) remains in "extreme" drought status, down from "exceptional" at the first of March. but still above "severe.". Even though March ended up above normal with over 6 inches of rain, all but an inch and a half of that fell by the 4th day of the month. Only 2.5 inches fell in January and February, which followed the 36.5 inches for the entire year of 2011 (75% of normal). Little surface moisture remains from the last heavy rains of a month ago to help hold down temperatures on a day like today when everything else is favorable...hence the record highs.
On March 29th we came close to 90 degrees for the first time this year - with a high of 89 at Edisto Island. The 87 degrees at Charleston tied the record for that date, set in 1985.
Keep in mind that the area near the coast from just south of Charleston to the Savannah River (which includes Edisto Island) remains in "extreme" drought status, down from "exceptional" at the first of March. but still above "severe.". Even though March ended up above normal with over 6 inches of rain, all but an inch and a half of that fell by the 4th day of the month. Only 2.5 inches fell in January and February, which followed the 36.5 inches for the entire year of 2011 (75% of normal). Little surface moisture remains from the last heavy rains of a month ago to help hold down temperatures on a day like today when everything else is favorable...hence the record highs.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Drought conditions eased a little by heavy rains this weekend...
The frontal system that pushed through the area Saturday night brought a total of just over 4 inches of rainfall to Edisto Island between noon yesterday (Saturday, March 3) and 8 a.m. this morning. This basically doubled what we'd had so far this year through the end of February. It was nicely distributed over a 20-hour period, and was more than 10 percent of the total 2011 rainfall here (36.5 inches).
Below, the picture of the orange-stained alligator reflects one effect of the ongoing severe drought conditions in the region. I photographed this specimen in early February in the nearby 8,000-acre Donnelley Wildlife Management Area in Colleton County, in part of the ACE Basin. The water levels in area swamps and fresh-water impoundments have dropped drastically, leaving large areas dry. Widespread areas of an orange-colored "scum" have been noted on mud flats and on top of very shallow water -.areas where the water is usually deeper. Iron-rich ground water seeps up and leaves rust-colored deposits on the surfaces when exposed to the air. This gator had been burrowed in the stuff for a while before coming out to bask in 78-degree temperatures on February 5th.
Below, the picture of the orange-stained alligator reflects one effect of the ongoing severe drought conditions in the region. I photographed this specimen in early February in the nearby 8,000-acre Donnelley Wildlife Management Area in Colleton County, in part of the ACE Basin. The water levels in area swamps and fresh-water impoundments have dropped drastically, leaving large areas dry. Widespread areas of an orange-colored "scum" have been noted on mud flats and on top of very shallow water -.areas where the water is usually deeper. Iron-rich ground water seeps up and leaves rust-colored deposits on the surfaces when exposed to the air. This gator had been burrowed in the stuff for a while before coming out to bask in 78-degree temperatures on February 5th.
Friday, January 20, 2012
2011 Edisto Island climatological summary
Here is the climatic summary for 2011 for Cooperative station Edisto Middleton Plantation (S.C. "Southern Division" in the NCDC Climatological Data publication). Edisto Middleton is on the inland side of Edisto Island, 6 miles from the ocean as the crow flies. Its climate is actually more typical of that of an "interior coastal" location like Charleston (airport), Beaufort and Savannah...as opposed to peninsular Charleston or the Edisto Beach State Park Coop site, which are true coastal sites.
As a brief preview, I can say that it was a dry year with a very warm summer. The only truly wet month was July with 10.20 inches of rain, and almost all of that fell on just 3 days. Rainfall in the other months was consistently a little below normal, with May, September and December all ending up well below. Total for the year was 36.51 inches, which is only about three-quarters the average annual rainfall. Meaurable rain fell on only 85 days (normal is 110).
From the end of April until almost the middle of July, only 2.9 inches of rain fell. This contributed to a period of well-above-normal early summer temperatures. The daily high temperature was 90+ for an amazing (for this close to the coast) 45 consecutive days (May 31 through July 14). The highest reading was 104 degrees on June 21, with 103 recorded on the 13th and 20th as well. On all of these days the sea breeze was held off until late afternoon...and with only an inch and a half of rain since April, the ground was parched. The instrumentation at the Edisto Middleton Coop station is a mercury in-glass maximum thermometer in a Cotton Region Shelter, backed up by a Nimbus MMTS.
This period in June was the hottest weather the area had experienced since August 1, 1999, when Charleston recorded its all-time high temperature of 105, a day on which gusty northwesterly winds kept the sea breeze at bay all day and carried those 100+ readings all the way to the beaches (and concidentally, the same day I was self-moving from my previous house to my current one). Interestingly, the minimum temperature that morning was 85 degrees (although cold outfow from thunderstorms just before midnight on the 2nd lowered the 24-hour minimum to 80 for the day). One of the forecasters commented that he knew we were in for a bad day when the temperature at 7 am was 85 degrees...with patches of dense fog! But the dew point dropped into the upper 50s and 60s during the afternoon.
Overall, there were 111 days with maximum temps at or above 90 degrees (121 days at Savannah), probably some kind of record, and over twice the normal number of such days.
The lowest temperature for the year was 21 degrees on January 14. There were 12 days with minimums of 32 or below - all occurring in January. It's unusual not to have any freezes in February or December, and we can usually expect a couple in March and maybe late November as well.
As a brief preview, I can say that it was a dry year with a very warm summer. The only truly wet month was July with 10.20 inches of rain, and almost all of that fell on just 3 days. Rainfall in the other months was consistently a little below normal, with May, September and December all ending up well below. Total for the year was 36.51 inches, which is only about three-quarters the average annual rainfall. Meaurable rain fell on only 85 days (normal is 110).
From the end of April until almost the middle of July, only 2.9 inches of rain fell. This contributed to a period of well-above-normal early summer temperatures. The daily high temperature was 90+ for an amazing (for this close to the coast) 45 consecutive days (May 31 through July 14). The highest reading was 104 degrees on June 21, with 103 recorded on the 13th and 20th as well. On all of these days the sea breeze was held off until late afternoon...and with only an inch and a half of rain since April, the ground was parched. The instrumentation at the Edisto Middleton Coop station is a mercury in-glass maximum thermometer in a Cotton Region Shelter, backed up by a Nimbus MMTS.
This period in June was the hottest weather the area had experienced since August 1, 1999, when Charleston recorded its all-time high temperature of 105, a day on which gusty northwesterly winds kept the sea breeze at bay all day and carried those 100+ readings all the way to the beaches (and concidentally, the same day I was self-moving from my previous house to my current one). Interestingly, the minimum temperature that morning was 85 degrees (although cold outfow from thunderstorms just before midnight on the 2nd lowered the 24-hour minimum to 80 for the day). One of the forecasters commented that he knew we were in for a bad day when the temperature at 7 am was 85 degrees...with patches of dense fog! But the dew point dropped into the upper 50s and 60s during the afternoon.
Overall, there were 111 days with maximum temps at or above 90 degrees (121 days at Savannah), probably some kind of record, and over twice the normal number of such days.
The lowest temperature for the year was 21 degrees on January 14. There were 12 days with minimums of 32 or below - all occurring in January. It's unusual not to have any freezes in February or December, and we can usually expect a couple in March and maybe late November as well.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Roseate Spoonbill
Unusual sighting of a roseate spoonbill in South Carolina...enjoying the 75 degree weather on January 8, 2012...at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area in southern coastal SC. Also, a few other images from the day (above).
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