Interesting Weather Information Past & Present

Climo:
So how cold has this cold winter been? Per the NWS the average Dec 1-Feb 15 temp. for KIAH has been 49.1 degrees or the 7th coldest on record and currently the first 15 days of Feb are the 8th coldest on record. More astounding is the fact that Galveston is currently running an impressive 8.0 degrees below average for the month of Feb. By far this has been one of the coldest winters of the past decade and likely for many since the late 1980’s.

Spring Outlook:
The outlook for the March-May period for TX will continue to favor the wetter and colder pattern of this winter. El Nino indicators have shown a gradual cooling of the current ENSO in progress with conditions heading toward neutral by early summer. This corresponds well with above average rainfall and continued cooler conditions. One interesting aspect is all this cold air affects on the Gulf water temps. Temperatures are running above 2.0 degrees colder than last year at this time over the Gulf. With all the cold and stable air in place it has been hard to get severe weather going along the Gulf coast this winter. During such El Nino winter severe threats and tornadoes are fairly common along the US Gulf coast. The combination of poor moisture quality over the Gulf and a very suppressed sub-tropical jet has resulted in all the “action” being out over the central Gulf of Mexico. This activity in this very active pattern should begin to lift northward over the next month, but the colder than average water temperatures may help mitigate much of a severe weather season until the Gulf warms a bit and the cold air intrusions abate.

Another Rainy Day

Well, well after 2 days of sunshine this week, what else could we have expected? Hopefully, we will miss out on the frozen precipitation that our neighbors to the north are having to deal with. I figured I had a couple of minutes to spare so I decided to come in and update you all on the course happenings.

Last week we were able to complete our pre/post emergent herbicide applications that have been postponed due to the wet conditions. This combination of herbicides will help control the winter weeds that are existent in the fairways and tees as well as begin to build our barrier against the weed seeds that will begin germinating when the soil temperatures begin to rise. The cooler temperatures have hampered the effects of the chemical used to kill the existing weeds, however we are seeing some slight yellowing, which is a positive sign that the plant is taking it up slowly.

On top of the herbicide applications, we have been hard at work on renovating the old flower beds around the course. Our main focus has been around the practice areas and the clubhouse, since these are areas that get a lot of "eye time", with a goal of completing all bed work next week. When the temperatures become conducive to planting, we will fill the most visible beds with low-maintenance yet highly decorative vegetation.

My goal with this blog is to not only communicate course happenings but also educate the benefits of the many agronomic practices that are performed throughout the year. I will attempt to keep it simple, however, please provide feedback on how I can make it better. If you have questions, don't hesitate to pass them along, it will only help to enhance the effectiveness of this communication tool and it will also help me pick a topic to discuss. If you are thinking about it, there are others who have thought or are probably thinking about it as well.

SOLID TINE AERIFICATION 101
Looking ahead to the next couple of weeks, we do not have any major agronomic practices planned, mainly due to the cold temperatures. However, peeking into March, if the temperatures cooperate, we will begin attempting to jump start some transition out of dormancy. One important practice will include poking holes into the putting surface, also known as, solid tine aerification. The holes will puncture the surface allowing more effective gas exchange in the root zone, helping to aid in respiration, or "breathing". The aeration is similar to the act of poking holes into the lid of a jar containing a frog. Without the holes the frog will eventually, through respiration, replace the oxygen in the jar with a hazardous by-product carbon dioxide, leading to its death. This same exact process happens in the root zone of the greens. If we did not "vent" the greens, eventually the root zone will be in abundance of carbon dioxide and a shortage of oxygen, leading to eventual suffocation of the plants.

Now that I have bored everyone to sleep with Agronomy 101, I will now post this message and wait for the feedback. As always, you can reach me by email at steven.chernosky@ourclub.com or call my office, 281-360-2002. I am always willing to listen to comments and pass along educative information to willing listeners. Until next time, stay warm, stay dry, and get ready for some great NASCAR action coming up this weekend!! Yes, I did say NASCAR, however I will also have one eye on Pebble Beach.

Rain on the Way

It seems like every morning that I am able to sit down and update this blog, there is a good chance of rain on the way, with today being no different. It appears that the El Nino pattern this year is living up to its reputation. If many of you are not familiar with the El Nino weather pattern, I will do my best to give some simple insight. The first thing that comes to mind when describing this weather pattern is the repetitive pattern of cool, wet weather systems moving through our area every 4-5 days. These fronts are not dropping high amounts of rainfall at one time, however with each passing front, we are seeing anywhere from a tench to half an inch of rain. You couple this with constant cloud cover and low wind speeds, and you are left with constant wet conditions on the golf course.

Fortunately, over the past couple of days the weather has cooperated enough for us to complete some much needed projects. Our main focus was put towards repairing the broken cart path on #2. As usual it was not just a quick concrete job because once we got everything exposed, we found a crushed drainage pipe as the culprit for the collapsed cart path. A ten foot piece of pipe and a few hours later, the drainage pipe and the cart path were repaired. Along with the path repair, we were able to touch up the paint in the on-course bathrooms. Hopefully in the next week or so we will see the new water cooler stands in place.

Until next time, stay dry over the next couple of days and I hope to see you all at the MGA tournament this weekend.