Even the climate models are confused by this year’s weather. When the August monthly outlook was released (July 31st; national Climate Prediction Center) it showed significant confidence that August would have below-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation. However, the shorter-range outlooks (that update daily) the last few days, seem to contradict that prediction. Whether it is[Read More…]
While the remnants of Hurricane Barry brought some much-needed precipitation to the state, the next few weeks look to be on the dry side. Temperatures are also expected to be warmer than normal, so heat stress may become an issue for plants and animals. The Midwestern Regional Climate Center’s (MRCC) Vegetation Impact Program (VIP) provides[Read More…]
When I was very young, I remember my father talking about “knee high by the Fourth of July”. As I got older I thought that expression was so strange for it seemed the corn was usually “man high” by the Fourth of July. Obviously, the excessive rains and cooler temperatures have had an impact this[Read More…]
Some weeks I wonder if I could just re-use the previous week’s weather and climate article! The story seems to be the same: It’s been wet and more rain is expected. It is impressive, however, astounded when to see the contrast in June precipitation (so far) for precipitation across the state (Figure 1). It seems[Read More…]
The biggest topic seems to be how wet it is and how much more rain Indiana can expect. So far, May has experienced near-normal precipitation throughout the central part of the state with 0.5”-2” in southern and northern regions (Figure 1). Combining this with April’s precipitation, however, means the soil moisture is still 60mm to[Read More…]
The rain seems to keep falling, barely providing time for things to dry out and start planting! The last few weeks has experienced up to 2” above normal precipitation – particularly for west-central and southern Indiana, which is near the 125th-125th percentile. Warm days seem to be relatively few and far between, causing a slow[Read More…]
March has been welcoming Indiana like a lion with below-normal temperatures and a combination of above and below normal precipitation (see figure). Snowfall accumulated across the state ranging from less than 1” in the southwest and northwest to as much as 3-4” in the southeast part of Indiana. This precipitation has caused drought to be[Read More…]