By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)
This week’s Iowa Crop and Weather report from the USDA rates 60% of Iowa topsoil either short or very short of moisture. State Climatologist Justin Glisan says abnormally dry conditions have expanded in the past two weeks.
“In those more pervasive and dry areas, we’ve seen precipitation deficits really stack up,” Glisan says. “This is reflected in lower stream flows, but also diminishment in soil moisture.”
By last Thursday, 99% of the state reached some stage of drought or has been abnormally dry for 30 to 60 days according to the USDA’s Iowa Drought Monitor. Glisan says it appears surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean are rising — and that means a change in the weather pattern for thunderstorms that form over the ocean and later sweep into Iowa.
“I think there is good news on the horizon,” Glisan says.
Weather models indicate the swing into the wetter pattern could arrive in Iowa by July, according to Glisan, just when corn and soybeans hit a major stage in development.
“We need timely rainfalls throughout the teeth of the growing season,” Glisan says, “so seeing this potential shift into El Nino, which we are in now, and the potential for the weather patterns that set up, I am pretty confident that we are not going to see any yield loss because of early planting.”
Glisan made his comments during a recent appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS. According to the USDA, the development of Iowa’s soybean crop is nine days ahead of normal and the corn crop is a week ahead of last year.
