Great Lakes Echo (http://greatlakesecho.org/tag/drought/page/2/)
Great Lakes fall tourism may take a bit of a hit this year.
The summer’s drought has implications for how fast leaves fall.
The impact varies throughout the region and tourism officials say it is modest as many seasonal activities do not depend on leaf color.
This map of the nation’s groundwater uses data from gravity-sensing satellites.
The unique characteristics of the Great Lakes region may throw it a bit off.
That makes it harder to explain – and even more fascinating.
Drought has obvious harsh negative impacts.
But there are a few winners. Among them are regional winemakers raising grapes that benefit from the low humidity.
Dropping water prompted some boaters to quit the season five weeks early.
That’s hurt Great Lakes marinas.
Some with plenty of water are isolated from customers who cannot reach them.
As apple growers statewide struggle to make up for losses, experts say the ramifications of one of the toughest crop years ever could continue to harm the industry. One worry: Will seasonal workers return to Michigan?
The dry summer has increased the mosquito that spreads the West Nile virus.
The species easily reproduces in a warm, dry climate.
Michigan health officials say more than 115 cases and six deaths have been confirmed this year, up from 34 cases last year.
The increasing unpredictability of extreme weather makes it hard to adapt U.S. crops to climate change. So says, Phil Robertson, a crop and soil scientist from Michigan State University, in a recent video released by the Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media. Adjusting planting strategies and adapting new crop genetics are straightforward approaches farmers and crop scientists can take to respond to new climate conditions, he said. The variability of extreme weather complicates these tactics, though. “Extreme events, with the longer heat waves, with seasonal droughts, which are much more difficult to predict, and much more important in their effects on crops will be, I think, probably the hardest aspect of climate change to anticipate and adapt to,” Robertson said in the video.
NASA’s Earth Observatory has a remarkable view of the impact of the summer drought. Parts of the Great Lakes region are among those hardest hit. The image depicts plant health in the central U.S. with data collected by the space agency’s Terra satellite. Brown areas show where plants have taken a hit, cream indicates normal growth and green indicates lush vegetation. Gray indicates where data could not be collected because of snow or cloud cover. Things look particularly bad in southern Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.