Is it Hot and Humid or an Official Heat Wave

We must be in CNY Toto, the weather has gone from wet and cold to hot and humid quicker than you go from pants to shorts. While temps have been well above normal, is it truly a heat wave? Jessica Spaccio a climatologist with Cornell has the definition, plus a tool that tells you if the plants need water. 

Spaccio, at the Northeast Regional Climate Center, says for us Central New Yorkers an official heat wave is 3 consecutive days with temps 90 or above. By that definition, it's just hot and humid. We only hit 90 on Monday, it was 87 Sunday and 84 Tuesday, may be we could call it a heat ripple.

Whatever you call it, it was pretty steamy and about 15-20 degrees above normal. Donald Rakow in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University says that means early season vegetables and flowers and any transplants are going to need plenty of water, especially during the heat of the day.

Spaccio helped create a tool called the, Water Deficit Calculator. Whether your planting hundreds of acres of corn or just a few flowers and vegetables, the tool helps determine the amount of heat stress on plants. Use the tool and get more tips on helping your plants survive heat stress at the Climate Smart Farming website.

SOURCE:  Cornell University

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