May 24, 2013

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Highway Patrol offers Spring safety tips to motorists as the weather gets warmer (AUDIO)

April 8, 2013 By

Spring has arrived and the Missouri Highway Patrol is urging motorists to drive with caution on the roads this season as varying temperatures and weather patterns can pose a problem for drivers.

Spokesman Capt. Tim Hull is warning drivers to be aware of conditions such as flash flooding, which is caused by heavy rain, and to slow down to watch for slick areas on the roads early in the morning.

Hull  says the varying temperatures can still leave roadways to be covered with frost. While roads might appear to be clear, it’s important to keep caution.

“This is a seasonal thing that we see every Spring and even though we had a drought last year for most of the summer, in the Spring we see a lot of rain and a lot of runoff especially when we have downpour, torrential rain,” Hull said. “Small creeks become swollen and will actually go over the roadways.”

He says motorists who are driving by low water crossings, or in an area where water can occasionally come across the roadways, should watch out for those because even a small amount of moving water can cause a vehicle to be pushed off a bridge or a roadway and into the waterways.

Early morning fog can also cause low visibility problems for drivers. “Make sure you turn your headlights on and drive according to those conditions that are out there,” Hull said. “Slow down, leave a little more following distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.”

Hull says flooding is a more common occurrence in the rural parts of the state, as well as the metropolitan areas where there are streets with poor drainage systems.

AUDIO: Mary Farucci reports. (1:02)

Filed Under: Drought, Featured, Flooding, News, Transportation, Weather

Drought lessened in Southeast Missouri, still ‘severe’ in Western Missouri

January 19, 2013 By

The drought has lessened in parts of Missouri, but it hasn’t broken and is still considered severe in nearly 40 percent of the state according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor update for Missouri.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor update for Missouri.

A system that caused flooding in southeastern Missouri has eased the drought there, according to National Weather Service hydrologist Mark Fuchs, but much of Missouri didn’t get very much rainfall.

“The areas that did (get significant rain) would be areas basically just south of St. Louis down into south-central Missouri and points east, like over toward like Cape Girardeau, did get some fairly decent drought relief.”

The rain also significantly raised the level of the Mississippi River by as much as 9 feet in places, but Fuchs says much more rain is needed before the drought can really be broken.

“We’re going to need repeated events of precipitation that we really haven’t seen this winter yet, but the key will be this spring. If we get some substantial rainfall in the spring that will go a long way to helping solve the moisture deficit across central and western Missouri.”

Fuchs says the Weather Service’s outlook for precipitation into the spring is pretty ambiguous.

“For the state of Missouri, more or less equal chances of above, near average or below average precipitation for the month of February or the three-month period from February through April, which is essentially a very fancy way of saying, ‘We’re not really sure.’ Some models are showing we could see above average rainfall, some models are showing we could see below average rainfall. There’s no real clear consensus in the modeling.”

Filed Under: Drought, Featured, News, Weather Tagged With: ,

NOAA releases winter outlook

October 18, 2012 By

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting warmer and drier than normal conditions in much of Missouri for December, January and February.

Click the image to go to NOAA’s winter outlook.

Deputy Director of the Administration’s Climate Prediction Center Mike Halpert says NOAA’s winter outlook calls for above normal temperatures in, “much of Texas northward through the Central and Northern Plains and westward across the Southwest, the Northern Rockies and the eastern halves of Washington, Oregon and California as well as the northern two-thirds of Alaska.”

The northern half of Missouri is also predicted to have below normal precipitation in December, January and February, with equal chances of above or below normal precipitation in the southern half of the state.

As for whether or not this year’s historic drought will continue, the report doesn’t cover that but Halpert refers to the climate center’s drought outlook that extends to about halfway through January.

“The large majority of that drought we expect to persist. Kind of a negative thing is that we even see drought expanding westward along the northern tier, so into Montana and Idaho and parts of Oregon and Washington. Really, if you look at the precipitation forecast, the favored category where there is one is all for “below.”

The outlook is based on what are seen as the mostly likely probable outcomes, but Halpert says they could change. One variable is what he calls an “indecisive El Nino” this year.

“Typically by mid October we have a clear picture of the emerging climate factors that will influence the winter season, including whether El Nino or La Nina will occur. That has not been the case this year, however. A few months ago El Nino appeared likely to develop and persist through the winter but its development abruptly halted last month and sea surface temperatures across the Equatorial Pacific have largely returned to normal. We do still see some signs, however, that El Nino could still develop over the next few months and that possibility was taken into account for this outlook.”

Filed Under: Drought, Featured, News, Weather Tagged With: , , , ,

Conservation Department says ‘dead’ trees might only be dormant (AUDIO)

October 1, 2012 By

It’s fall planting season for trees, and many Missourians are looking at their landscaping at burnt, brown trees. However, the Conservation Department says don’t give up hope on them yet.

Deputy Director of the Department of Conservation Tom Draper says this year’s drought has killed many trees. However, some might come back. He recommends continuing to water them, and suggests postponing plans to replant until next spring.

He says if you do need to replace trees in your yard, there are some hardy, native trees that do well with the temperature extremes in Missouri. He recommends bald cypress, redbuds, oak trees and a few varieties of pine that do well here. Draper says Conservation arborists can help in that decision making process and tell you what will do best in certain types of light, climate and landscape.

AUDIO: Jessica Machetta reports (1:20)

Filed Under: Drought, News, Weather

Commission of legislators, citizens to look at drought impacts on agriculture

September 18, 2012 By

A Commission has been formed to study the damage done to Missouri’s ag industry by the drought and the down economy. 

Representative Bill Reiboldt (R-Neosho)

Representative Bill Reiboldt (R-Neosho) will chair the group.  He is, himself, a farmer in southeast Missouri. He says in his own operation, he had to cut his corn crop for silage and much of his soybean crop was used for hay.

Reiboldt says there is a lot of concern over maintaining Missouri’s rank as the nation’s number two cow-calf state.

“A lot of people, because of the lack of hay and the cost of buying hay, will be selling their stock herd … their mama cows. A lot of people will be forced into selling their cows, and we’re already looking at a time when the cattle industry has been hurt. Our cattle numbers are as low as they’ve been since the 1950s, is my understanding.”

Reiboldt says once a person gets out of a cattle operation, especially a dairy operation, getting back in presents many challenges that make it unlikely they will get back in.

“A cow that is born and raised in Missouri can go other places to live, but it’s hard to bring a cow from other areas into Missouri. So, we’re concerned about the cow-calf industry in Missouri. We’re concerned about the dairy industry in Missouri … because so many of the smaller dairymen are having to sell out because they don’t have the feed. We’re concerned about the price of corn and other commodities and how it will affect a poultry industry and the hog industry in Missouri.”

Reiboldt says the group will look at a lot of possible ways producers might be helped. “We’re going to be looking at some water issues into the future. We’re going to be looking at irrigation. We’re going to be looking at definitely rebuilding the cow-calf industry in Missouri and what ways can we be of help. For example, if a person has to completely disperse a part or all of their herd, can we spread that tax liability over several years so that we can buy back?”

The other members of the commission are Representatives Jay Houghton (R-Martinsburg), Tony Dugger (R-Hartville) and Diane Franklin (R-Camdenton), as well as citizen members Lonny Duckworth of Duckworth Farms, Lloyd Gunter of Gunter Farms, Brent Sandidge of Ham Hills Farms and Greg Scharpe of Pioneer Seed.

The Commission will schedule four meetings around the state between now and the end of the year.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Drought, Featured, Legislature, News Tagged With: ,
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