A good indicator when farmers can get in their fields is the soil temperature. Once the temperature of the first four inches of soil reached 50 degrees, seeds are warm enough to germinate.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), soil temperatures are 55-60 degrees for most of Northern Illinois with Southern Wisconsin exceeding that 50 degree mark.

So why are we so far behind in planting this year? Too much rain! Imagine that! After a significant drought last year, we are getting too much rainall this year! In fact, some spots in the Midwest saw their rainiest April on record! While our drought is officially over, it continues across the Plains States from South Dakota down into much of Texas.

On average, Illinois farmers are about half way through planting. However this year due to extreme rainfall, only 7% of the corn has been planted.

In Wisconsin, only 4% of the state’s corn has been planted with the average being 26%. Continued dry weather will ensure the number goes up, but rainfall is in the forecast for Illinois and Wisconsin Thursday. Some locations in Northern Illinois could receive in excess of an inch. Wisconsin will remain a bit drier.

Looking at statistics from the USDA for the nation: 12% of the corn is planted which is the slowest pace since 1984. It is very similar to  1993 when much of the Midwest was dealing with record flooding. -Eric

Posted under climate/climate change, drought, flooding, news

We are three full months into 2013 and are currently sitting with a surplus of precipitation in the bucket this year. Last year at this time we were slowly slipping into a drought that would last the entire year and bring us summer temps that broke records. This year we have been below average in terms of high temperatures, but above average in precip. Our next round of showers moves into the area on Saturday with the possibility of some thunder mixed in. That combined with an active pattern early next week could help us keep this precipitation surplus going! -Greg

Posted under drought, rain, statistics, weather

According to the United States Drought Monitor, Northern Illinois is still abnormally dry and the rest of Illinois is currently not under drought conditions.

Just three months ago, 78% of Illinois was abnormally dry, while 40% was under moderate drought conditions, and 9% (including us) under severe! We can thank those “spring” snow storms, along with the January and February rain and snow showers for pulling all but 16% of Illinois out of dry conditions.

We’ve actually had an excess of precipitation since the start of the year, compared to our normal of 4.82 inches for January, February, and March here in Rockford. January brought us 3.09 inches, slightly less from February at 2.98 inches, and just over 2 and a quarter inches so far this month. These precipitation amounts total to 8.36 inches and nearly double our precipitation totals for the same three months in 2012 (4.63 inches).

There is a little bit of rain and rain/snow mix in the forecast for the weekend, so don’t forget to check the updated U.S. Drought Monitor on Thursday. In the meantime, Northern Illinois will slowly chip away those abnormally dry conditions.

Posted under 13 Climate Authority, climate/climate change, drought, statistics, weather

We are closing in on the last week of March and have a very good shot at ending the month with only one day at or above the average high temperature. That is as far away from last year’s March as we could get. Last year we saw an impressive and highly unusually warm March with temperatures soaring above 80 degrees for nearly a week straight. Those well above average temperatures were a gift at the time, but they also helped spark our extreme drought that endured the rest of the year. This year’s temps are down, but our precip is steadily gaining ground and not going into the negative. I don’t know about you, but I can handle a few more weeks if it lessens our chances for another extreme drought this summer. -Greg

Posted under cold blast, drought, statistics, winter weather

Burt Rundall sent me an e-mail this afternoon asking “How much of an impact has this winter moisture had on the drought?”

Burt, no question the recent snow events will have a positive impact on our drought conditions. But more important is looking at the long-term trend. Here, you can see the precipitation departure from normal for the past 12 months. 8 of the past 12 months have been dry, but the trend noticeably changed around Christmastime.

This past weekend, we participated in a media workshop at the National Weather Service Quad Cities Forecast Office. We discussed the drought conditions at length. Ray Wolf, Meteorologist with the NWS said it is extremely rare to have a drought go from one year into the next. Rivers are back near bank-full levels thanks to plenty of rain in December and January. Snowfall from February and March will be melting in the coming weeks which will help reinvigorate our fields and yards.

Great question Burt! -Eric

p.s. If you have a weather question, send it to us! weather@wrex.com

Posted under 13 Climate Authority, drought

2012 brought the Midwest the worst drought conditions in a generation! It all began in May when we saw only 1.62 inches of rainfall, nearly 2 1/2 inches below normal!

While the drought continues now, the precipitation began to turn around in December. The problem for many snowlovers has been the warm temperatures. It was just too warm to produce much snowfall in the first few months of the winter. In December, we had a surplus of 1/2 inch, but that got even higher in January.

January 2013 was a very odd month. While we saw over 3 inches of precipitation, almost all of it came in the form of RAIN! For the month we only got 2.7 inches of snow. To make the comparison fully, the 3.09″ of precipitation, had it come as all snow, would have been 2 1/2 FEET! Okay, with that being said. What if all of our precipitation this winter season fell as snow? We’ve had 8.51 inches of precipitation. Move that decimal point over to the left one place and if all of the snow came down heavy, we would’ve seen 85 inches! The record snowiest winter season for Rockford is 74.5 inches, set 1978/1979.

Bottom line: The precipitation trend has been wonderful for our drought woes. It’s also beneficial to be making this up in the latter part of the winter season versus the early part. Heading into March, it will prep our precious agricultural zones with much-needed moisture and nutrients! -Eric

Posted under drought, rain, statistics, weather

A weak Alberta Clipper system that dived south out of Canada brought some light snow to northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin on Wednesday.  Nearly all of us picked up a light dusting of snow.  Some locations picked up a bit more, especially west of the Rock River.  Galena led the way with 2 inches, observed just southeast of town.  Both Freeport and Dixon picked up around an inch to an inch and half.

At Chicago Rockford International Airport, about a quarter of an inch was observed (similar to most local areas).  How does Rockford fare this season, now that meteorological winter is halfway over?  Not surprisingly, our snowfall deficit is significant: nearly 18 inches below normal!  At RFD, only 2.9 inches of snow has fallen this season.  While measurable snow (0.1 inches or more) has occurred on just 6 days, a trace amount of snow occurred on 17 days!  A ‘trace’ means that snow has fallen, but it’s not significant enough to measure (less than 0.1 inches).

Our next snow maker will come in the form of another Alberta Clipper late Thursday into Friday.  Another round of light snow with similar accumulations can be expected.

-Joe

Posted under drought, snow, statistics, weather, winter weather

We are in the midst of a very mild stretch of weather, and it’s just our luck that a storm system will move through on Thursday while our temperatures are still well above average. This means that what could have been snow will now fall as rain and could be heavy at times. In fact, Thursday-Saturday we could see on and off showers of the liquid type. While this will help out overall drought that stems back to last Spring, it won’t help our snow deficit that now stands at 10.6″ off of our average snowfall through this date. -Greg

Posted under drought, rain, snow, statistics, winter weather

That’s right!  Another record weather event has been set in Rockford.

Sunday, December 16, 2012 marked the 287th day without measurable snowfall in the Forest City.  Measurable snowfall is defined as 0.1″ of snow or greater.  The last time we picked up any snow was on March 4, 2012.  This snowless streak ties the previous record set 90 years ago from March 1, 1922 through December 14, 1922.  With no accumulating snow in the forecast for Monday, 2012 looks to take sole possession of this record statistic!

-Joe

Posted under 13 Climate Authority, drought, record weather, snow, statistics, weather

We are in the midst of a nice little heat spell accompanied by a dry streak. That will come to an on Saturday as our next rain maker pushes into the area. Some scattered showers will start late Friday night into Saturday and continue into Saturday afternoon. According to several computer models, a few spots could end up with over 0.5″ of rainfall. On the back side of the cool front that brings the rain, we could see a few non-sticking snow showers on Sunday. -Greg

Posted under drought, rain, snow, winter weather