Spring in Australia: crops in NSW are being abandoned

These articles are designed to conceal as much as they reveal.

You would think that crop failures in New South Wales would be major headlines but no, it is only in one minor publication across the whole internet.

The SMH article says it is going to be ‘quite hot’ and fails to mention that days into spring this is completely unprecedented; another record falls.

Only right in the middle of the article where it is designed to be overlooked is the punchline

“NSW has never had a 40-degree day recorded in September, and the latest model runs are putting such a temperature in play, according to the Bureau of Meteorology”

Seasonal outlook: NSW crops abandoned

CROPS have being abandoned in parts of NSW after months of severe frosts combined with poor rainfall and warm spring temperature

The Weekly Times,

21 September, 2017

The NSW Department of Primary Industries’ latest seasonal outlook, released last week, painted a bleak picture for some major cropping regions in the state.

NSW DPI seasonal conditions co-ordinator Ian McGowen said crops west of the Newell Highway have been “virtually written off”.

“Across north western and central western NSW and areas of the Riverina, many crops have been abandoned,” the DPI report said.

“In eastern areas, a combination of warm daytime temperatures and multiple frosts put pressure on crops, progressively reducing the yield potential of winter cereals and canola.”

The report also said more than one-third of the state received below-average rainfall last month, with the north east receiving the lowest falls.

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And topsoil moisture modelling from the DPI and CSIRO showed while it remained stable in western and central NSW, there were major declines across the north and the central to north coast.

Mr McGowen said growers in the worst-affected regions were turning livestock onto crops, after poor rainfall and severe frosts stunted winter pasture growth.

He said the Bureau of Meteorology had reported that Condobolin had suffered up to 25 more frosts than average this year from the start of August until last week, when the temperature dipped below 2C.

“We’ve seen head frosting in cereals, and some stem frosting,” he said. “In canola and pulses there has been flower and pod abortion.”

“It’s very difficult to assess how much damage a frost has done until its ready to harvest.”

Condobolin farmer Peter Dowling told The Weekly Times dying canola, wheat and barley had been sprayed out in his district “for weed control and to keep cover on the ground”.

A Kikoira near, near West Wyalong, Mark Hoskinson said conditions were “shocking” and that if he didn’t receive rain in the next week he would put livestock on grain crops.

“What’s not frosted is under severe moisture stress. It looks like it will be a complete wipe-out here unless there is a rain soon,” he said.

It wasn’t all bad news. Mr McGowen said topsoil moisture improved across the south, eastern and central Riverina, Monaro and south east of the state.

Corowa grower Pat Drum said his crops were starting to “dry off a bit” after very good rain in autumn, but he wasn’t too concerned yet about the cropping season.

SEVERE Heatwave about to grip Queensland

HigginsStorm Chasing,
20 September, 2017



After the non-existent and dry Winter for Queensland, we are about to be dealt a harsh blow as a prolonged heatwave is forecast to lash the State starting on Thursday in the West and Friday in the East! Above image – Saturday Forecast Maximums via OCF

A high pressure system is forecast to be situated off the Queensland Coast, staying near stationary from Thursday until Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday the high is expected to slowly drift towards the East however the ridge is likely to extend back towards the State. This high is likely to combine a series of low pressure troughs moving through NSW, SA and Southern parts of Queensland, generating a very constant and very dry North-Westerly flow across the region which will see temperatures skyrocket.

From Thursday onwards, temperatures are expected to scorch into the mid to high 30’s across Western parts of the State. By Friday, the heat (35ºc+) should cover the majority of Inland QLD, with 30-35ºc across Eastern parts of the State. On Saturday we could see temperatures rise ito around 40ºc across South-Western QLD with the majority of Inland QLD sitting above 37ºc and places like Ipswich, Beaudesert and Gatton rising into the mid to high 30’s.


A cooler change is forecast to move through the Southern districts later on Sunday / early Monday however temperatures are likely to remain above 30ºc for most areas (well above average for this time of year). Temperatures across the South-East corner, Central and Northern districts are likely to stay very hot for this time of year (35ºc+).


The increase heat is expected to also lead to a significant increase in fire danger potential. Fire danger threats should reach at least very high levels, potentially severe across several districts throughout the heatwave period (Thursday to Wednesday).

Sydney weather: 'Quite hot' conditions this weekend as NSW records in play

SMH,
20 September, 2017



Temperatures in Sydney will climb into the 30s in coming days as very warm air from inland Australia gets drawn to the coast, setting up potentially NSW's first 40-degree day recorded in September.



A "vast area" of the state will have very high fire danger by the weekend, with some areas tipping into "severe" risks, Ben Shepherd, a spokesman for the NSW Rural Fire Service, said.

The mercury will begin a steady rise from Wednesday's relatively chilly - though bang on average - forecast top of 20 degrees in the city to 25 degrees by Thursday as the sunshine increases.



By Saturday, Sydney will be looking at a top of 33 degrees but most of inland suburbs will be reaching higher temperatures, including 36 degrees in Penrith, according to the updated Bureau of Meteorology forecasts.



"It's really going to be quite hot in Sydney," Jacob Cronje, senior meteorologist at Weatherzone, said.



The worst of the heat, though, will be felt in the state's north-west, where are a large region is likely to endure 39 degrees or hotter conditions on Saturday.



Wanaaring, which holds the current NSW record for September at 39.6 degrees in 2004, is among the expected hotspots.



NSW has never had a 40-degree day recorded in September, and the latest model runs are putting such a temperature in play, according to the Bureau of Meteorology



Mr Cronje said that each wave of cold fronts moving across the country at this time of year tends to draw in the hot, dry conditions building over central Australia. So far, there's little sign of a break of that pattern of heat pooling in the red centre.



"I don't think that heat is going anywhere," he said.



Alas for those holding out for rain, there are few signs of more than the odd shower for most parts of NSW over the coming week, including Sydney.



So far Sydney has recorded just 24.4 millimetres of rain since the start of July.



That tally - if not added to by more than 3.7 millimetres by the end of the month - would be the city's second driest July-September period on record, trailing only 1907, Blair Trewin, senior climatologist with the bureau, said.



Fire risks to be elevated



Along with the dry conditions and rising temperatures, winds are also likely to strengthen in coming days, Mr Cronje said, adding to the fire risks.



Fire authorities are gearing up for a more active and early fire season.



As of Wednesday, the state had more than 50 fires burning, nine of them uncontained, Inspector Shepherd said.



Sydney has already had its first total fire ban day, with last Wednesday's 33.8 degree maximum the first time the mercury had topped 33 degrees in the city by the first half of September in almost 160 years of records.



While it's too early to say whether the city will have another day of total fire ban during the coming warm patch, Inspector Shepherd said it may only take the increase in forecast wind speeds of a couple of kilometres per hour to nudge Sydney into that category.



As it is, areas of north-west NSW stretching into the Hunter are likely to have severe fire danger ratings for the weekend, he said.

Via Facebook

Another day, another very warm to hot and windy day along the coast and in the northeast of NSW.

Expecting to see things heat up dramatically this week into the weekend and I will be bringing comprehensive details on the dangerous fire weather expected this weekend in a lot of NSW and southern QLD.

Very hot and dry northwesterly winds will extend down into these regions later in the week into the weekend and this coupled with extremely low humidity and very dry vegetation, fire weather warnings are almost a certainty across vast areas of these states.