This week on the Good Growing Podcast, Chris and Ken chat with state climatologist, Dr. Trent Ford. During the episode, we chat about what’s up with the weather for 2023. Soils are dry across Illinois. Is there any relief in sight? Will El Nino play a role in our weather this winter? Will it be a cold and snowy winter? Trent will share the Climate Prediction Center’s outlook for the fall and winter.Citizen Science Climate Data Collection OpportunitiesCheck out CocoRahs https://www.cocorahs.org/ Check out CMOR https://go.illinois.edu/cmor Contact Trent Ford twford@illinois.edu00:31 - Hey Ken  3:16 – Welcome Trent! What’s up with the weather for 2023?8:16 – What is the report from the farmers this year? What is harvest shaping up to be?10:49 – Western Illinois seems to be in and out of drought this year. What does the US Drought Monitor show?12:46 – How is El Nino going to influence our Midwestern weather this winter?17:40 – How is reoccurring drought affecting our perennial plants like trees?20:23 – What are the fall and winter predictions for 2023 from Climate Prediction Center?23:06 – What influences our Illinois climate?23:40 – What questions about Earth’s climate keeps Trent up at night?28:55 – What is the most common question a state climatologist answers?32:42 - What are ways people can report climate data for Citizen Science efforts?37:53 – Thank yous and coming up next week!Contact us! Chris Enroth: cenroth@illinois.eduKen Johnson: kjohnso@illinois.edu  Check out the Good Growing Blog: https://go.illinois.edu/goodgrowingSubscribe to the weekly Good Growing email: https://go.illinois.edu/goodgrowingsubscribe Any products or companies mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion or endorsement of these products or companies. --You can find us on most podcast platforms.  SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/user-555304573   iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-growing/id1446630377    Tunein https://tunein.com/podcasts/Gardening/Good-Growing-p1187964/ Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/202u3siWExE1tTqrVgtmCR   Vurbl https://vurbl.com/station/good-growing-4pljnNlUtyG/   Listen notes https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/good-growing-chris-enroth-cHLPMWpvEOG/   Ivy https://ivy.fm/podcast/good-growing-167902   Castbox https://castbox.fm/channel/Good-Growing-id4302614?country=us   Google podcasts https://bit.ly/3AiYjTD