Victoria County Master         Gardener Association

WEATHER, CLIMATE:

and how they affect gardening

July 21, 2017

By Kathy Toerck/Victoria County Master Gardener

Edited by Charla Borchers Leon/Victoria County Master Gardener

PHOTO BY KATHY TOERCK/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER

Victoria County Master Gardener Kathy Toerck observes and reports precipitation every day with the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. CoCoRaHS is a volunteer group of citizens who report precipitation, or lack of, on a daily basis. She has also been a Skywarn spotter for the National Weather Service in Corpus Christi for at least 20 years. Shown here is Toerck's official rain gauge at her home in Goliad County.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Since weather, precipitation and climate conditions have a huge impact on agriculture and gardening, a good source and reference tool for precipitation by state and county published weekly is the USDA Drought Monitor map. Its focus is broad scale with note of varying local conditions. This is the most current map for this week.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Successful farmers and gardeners know that some plants do better than others in areas based on their hardiness and ability to survive a range of temperatures. The United States Department of Agriculture compiles data and publishes a hardiness map as a guide for planting. This 1997-2005 USDA Plant Hardiness map for Texas is the current published map with the local area shown in Zones 9a and 9b. Note: A group of horticultural, botanical and climatology experts determined that using a 30-year period best takes into consideration all weather variations and fluctuations.

PHOTO BY KATHY TOERCK/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER

Training can be obtained for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network on-line. The only equipment needed to participate in this program is an official rain gauge like shown here. It is available through the company, Weather Your Way (weatheryourway.com).

When most of us were growing up, in order to find out what ol' Mother Nature was going to do the next day, we had to wait patiently for the 5 o'clock news and weather.

Things have definitely changed. The Weather Channel, news and weather is forecast early in the morning, at dinnertime and at bedtime, not to mention weather apps on our cellphones give us instantaneous forecasts, current conditions and radar. But do you understand when the meteorologist mentions the words climate and weather as two different things?

First, let's define "climate" and "weather." Climate is the general weather of an area over a long period of time and includes seasonal changes in weather. The condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time is known as the weather.

Climate

Each area on Earth has its own climate. These factors explain how the climate of an area is determined:

• Latitude - How far north or south your area is from the equator.
  Temperatures near the equator are generally warmer than places farther away from the equator.

• Elevation - The distance of a place above or below sea level.

This affects the area's temperature that generally goes down the higher up you are in elevation. That is why, generally, tall mountains have cooler temperatures than places closer to sea level.

• Topography - Refers to the shape of the land; can affect the amount of precipitation an area receives.

For example, warm, moist air from the sea moves over mountains where it expands and cools. This causes the moisture in the air to condense and fall as rain, snow, etc.

• Distance from the water

Water temperature goes up and down more slowly than air or land temperatures. Temperatures on the land are generally warmer than temperatures at the shore.

• Global winds

These are winds that blow in a specific direction and affect how much moisture and the temperature of an area.

• Ocean currents

These fast-moving currents affect the temperature of land masses they go by.

These factors are used to determine an area's climate and determines USDA Hardiness Zones that gardeners and farmers rely on when planting.

Weather

The weather of an area is caused by four atmospheric factors: heat energy, air pressure, winds and moisture. In other words, the humidity - which we have a lot of in South Texas - cloud cover, temperature, wind and precipitation, which sometimes we have and sometimes we don't.

Meteorologists, scientists that study and forecast weather, take weather data and make weather maps, and forecast our weather.

• Weather satellites

Weather satellites are used to collect data while orbiting high above the earth's surface. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), in a combined effort, have launched a new weather satellite that has great potential.

The GOES-16 satellite sends continuous images of the Earth, day and night. These images show the entire hemisphere it is above. This allows meteorologists and scientists to better forecast our daily weather and long-term forecast.

• Weather radar

Weather radar was developed around 1954. Radio signals are reflected from clouds and precipitation and sent to computers that turn the signals into images.

Have you heard of Doppler radar? This type of radar bounces microwave signals off objects, then measures how the object has changed the microwave frequencies. Computers then change this data into images that help meteorologists forecast the weather.

• Weather stations

Weather stations measure weather conditions such as temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind direction and speed, the amount of cloud cover and precipitation. There are more than 400 weather stations in the United States. The National Weather Service uses this data to make weather maps and put together forecasts.

Relevance to gardening

You might ask yourself, how does all this information affect me as a gardener?

Well, have you ever ordered plants and seeds from a catalog only to find out that our South Texas weather had not been figured into the plants survival? I've even bought plants from another portion of the state and watched them slowly or really quickly wither away in our long, hot summers.

Many gardeners know that simply watering and fertilizing plants does not guarantee success. It is a combination of humidity, temperature, soil, nutrients, resistance to diseases - the list goes on and on. Purchasing plants that are hardy in your area is the best way to guarantee, if that is possible, success with your garden.

Look for Texas Superstar plants that by definition have been tested to do well all over Texas and plants from nurseries that require similar weather and growing conditions. Most nurseries in our area keep plants that are meant for our planting and growing zone.

The Gardeners' Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension - Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com.