JaBraun Knox’s family is remembering the 23-year-old Army sergeant today at calling at an Auburn funeral home.New plant map graphically illustrates changing climate
Global warming has officially hit Fort Wayne. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released updated Plant Hardiness Zone Maps for the country, and Fort Wayne moved from Zone 5b into Zone 6a.
The zone change provides a small data point supporting the reality of climate change.
The slightly different color of green that now blankets all of Fort Wayne and Huntington reflects a new climate reality.
It means it’s not as cold in northeast Indiana as it used to be.
It also means that less hardy plants and trees are now more likely to survive further north.
Local gardeners will want to re-evaluate what they are planting and when they stick their plants in the ground.
Gardeners can now consider plants that can withstand 10 degrees below zero rather than 15 below zero.
The zone map, which often appears on the backs of seed packets, was last updated in 1990.
The new map is based on weather data from 1976 to 2005 collected by the National Climatic Data Center. The nation’s average temperature increased by two-thirds of a degree compared with data collected between 1974 to 1986.
To view the maps in detail visit http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov.
