We are once again providing soil temperatures in the C.O.R.N. Newsletter for spring 2019. The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) Agricultural Research Stations located throughout the state have two and four inch soil temperatures monitored on an hourly basis.
Figure 1. Average daily air temperature (average of maximum and minimum daily temperatures; red-dashed), two and four inch soil temperatures for spring 2019 (brown and blue-solid, respectively), and two and four inch five-year average soil temperatures (brown and blue-dotted, respectively) for four OARDC stations from around Ohio (Northwest, Wooster, Western, and Piketon; see map insets). Conditions for 2019 are plotted through April 21st.
Figure 1 shows that over the past week, roller-coaster weather conditions (red-dashed line) have steadied or reversed any warming trends in soil temperatures from earlier in the month. Three of the four stations currently indicate soil temperatures cooler than their five-year averages (Wooster, Western, and Piketon), with Northwest demonstrating soil temperatures right the five-year averages. However, with overall mild and drier conditions expected this upcoming week, we should see decent warming of soils over the next seven days. Â Â Â Â Â
For more complete weather records for all of the OARDC research stations, including temperature, precipitation, growing degree days, and other useful weather observations, please visit http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weather1/.