CINCINNATI — Cicadas are coming.
It's like the theme song from Jaws, but replace it with the incessant buzz of summer. The music of the cicada will soon fill our ears as they emerge from their 17-year slumber.
I talked to local expert Dr. Gene Kritsky of Mount St. Joseph University to ask a few questions about the emergence, and he had a few interesting points to share.
First, we are less than two weeks away from emerging cicadas. Kritsky has a formula he uses to predict the date.
"It has a 90% accuracy, so I'm very confident of when we'll start to see and hear cicadas," Kritsky said.
So, when is that date? May 12, give or take 48 hours.
Watch: Learn more about cicadas and their emergence in our interview with Dr. Kritsky.
I also asked Kritsky about the impact of flooding recently along the Ohio River and whether that will affect the emergence numbers. This inquiry specifically came from a viewer who lives in Bracken County, Kentucky.
"The cicadas should be widespread in Bracken County. We are unable to predict the impact of the flooding this year. We do have evidence of cicadas emerging in large numbers in floodplain areas. But unless the county was entirely covered with water, I would not expect a major decline in numbers," Kritsky said.
You can help map the cicada emergence by downloading the Cicada Safari app to your phone.
