Turf Matters

The Star today is reporting high tide and wetter weather for Malaysia in the next few days. Not the best weather for golf and miserable weather for golf course and field maintenance staff. I guess we’ll just have to weather it out (pun intended).

For those of us near the sea, be careful of sea water on grass and especially be careful of sea water contaminating your irrigation ponds (it has happened before).

From The Star today 22 December 2014. (Part of it. Get the paper for whole story).

High Tide Phenomenon And Wetter Weather Expected Over Next Few Days
 
Monday, Dec 22 2014

PETALING JAYA: The floods which have ravaged the east coast and displaced tens of thousands of people are set to worsen with wetter weather predicted over the next few days.The Meteorological Department expects the high tide phenomenon due to the new moon and perigee to exacerbate the situation.A perigee is when the moon is positioned closest to the earth, resulting in stronger gravitational force than normal, generating higher tides.The department has for now issued a yellow stage alert for rainfall over Kelantan (Tumpat, Pasir Mas, Kota Baru, Bachok, Pasir Puteh, Machang, Tanah Merah, Jeli and Kuala Krai), Terengganu (all districts), Pahang (Kuantan, Pekan, Rompin and Jerantut) and Johor (Mersing, Kota Tinggi, Kluang and Segamat).The yellow stage advisory is the lowest of the three-tier warnings.It is issued for intermittent moderate rain expected over the next 24 to 48 hours. When the rainfall changes from intermittent to continuous, the yellow stage advisory would be changed to orange and then to red if heavy rain is incessant. The department’s spokesperson Dr Hisham Mohd Anip said heavy rainfall was usually expected in places such as southern Terengganu, eastern Pahang and eastern Johor during the end of the year. “We are expecting rain in these places to persist until Christmas,” he said yesterday. The department has also issued a warning over strong winds and rough seas in the coastal areas of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor, Sarawak and Sabah until Wednesday.Strong northeasterly winds with speeds of up to 60kph have been forecast along with rough seas (category three) with waves as high as 5.5m.Rises in sea levels are also expected at coastal areas of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and east Johor. The department has warned that the strong winds and rough seas were dangerous to all coastal and shipping activities and posed danger to workers on oil platforms.