ForWarn detected possible damage by severe weather in Johnston County, Oklahoma. Identified in April 2016, the weather event occurred in March 2016. The potential hail and wind from the storm likely created decline in vegetation greenness.
ForWarn has detected a potentially ephemeral disturbance after a severe storm in March-April, 2016 in Lincoln, Lawrence and Jefferson Davis counties of Mississippi. Hail from the storm possibly damaged early greening understory and tree foliage.
ForWarn has detected a severe weather disturbance event on January 8, 2016. A long-track tornado intersecting with Holly Springs National Forest, Mississippi has confirmed decline in vegetation greenness in the area.
ForWarn identified a disturbance in September 2015. Based on similar patterns in data in other locations, the decline in vegetation greenness in the Chequamegon National Forest, Wisconsin, is likely due to a storm event.
ForWarn detected a potential multiple threat anomaly in southeastern Missouri. Particularly on private lands, there are clusters that exhibit areas of stronger departure. There are some apparent drought-associated losses in vegetation greenness as well as disease and insect factors affecting the decline.
ForWarn detected weather damage in Northern Louisiana. A storm in late April moved through the forest and croplands causing damage to vegetation greenness.
ForWarn discovered an anomaly in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, Arkansas. A severe weather event harshly hit Mt. Magazine and the south slopes. High elevation trees were partially leafed out which were damaged by the hail streak. The behavior of this anomaly is consistent with severe weather damage in other areas, running linearly from southwest to northeast.
Urban areas are renowned for their admixture of species and vegetation types that can change from one parcel to the next. Yards and woodland parks intermix with road medians--all of which may be dominated by an irregular mix of native and exotic trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses. In cities, the vegetation of nearly every block is compositionally complex.
Understanding the normal start of greenup for croplands is important because it provides a baseline to compare year to year conditions. The date of greenup for agricultural lands varies based on year-to-year climate factors, the unique responses of the specific crop or vegetation type planted, and farmers' management practices. For areas that need to be planted in the spring, wet late winters can delay planting. Cool springs can delay growth. Either can potentially influence seasonal growth and yield.
The start of the annual growing season is among the most important climate-sensitive measures that Land Surface Phenology (LSP) products like ForWarn can provide. Warm temperatures can accelerate bud burst, and this can increase exposure to damaging spring frosts, as it did across the Southeastern US in 2007 and 2012. In natural areas, the timing of spring greenup can affect growing season duration and productivity. It can also affect the risk and impacts of disturbances, such as those from wind, hail and fire.
