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Big Temperature Swings Next Two Weeks

April Temperatures

Temperatures will be on a big roller coaster the next two weeks with highs ranging from the 40s to 70s and lows for the mid 20s to 50s. The tendency will be to switch from above normal the first half of this week to slightly below normal later this week and on.

April Precipitation

A progressive pattern is expected the next 2-3 weeks with a series of generally weak to moderate systems. The below normal rainfall pattern did occur to start April and that helped dry things out some. It does looks like we will see a gradual increase in rainfall chances the next few weeks. However, since systems will generally be weak to moderate rainfall will average 1-3 inches the next two weeks. Normal is 2 inches. The overall pattern will be switching to a bit more cool and damp as we go into mid to late April.

May Outlook

The May outlook still calls for warmer than normal and a little wetter than normal but not as wet as last year.

Soil Temperatures

Soil temperatures have reached into the 50s south of I-70 and mainly 40s to the north. Soil temperatures will rise a bit more this week but will slow by late week into mid April as cooler weather moves in.

Freeze and Frost Outlook

The normal time for the last hard freeze typically ranges from about April 10-20 from south to north. Frost is not uncommon into very early May. 

All indications remain that a fairly normal last hard freeze is on tap. We do expect several chances for frost and freeze in the next 1-2 weeks which is still not uncommon. Some morning lows in the mid 20s to mid 30s are likely the next 1-2 weeks.

Summary

Expect big temperature swings the next several weeks. Some freeze conditions are still expected. Rainfall will not be far from average the next few weeks but still leans slightly wetter than average especially 1-3 weeks out in time. Therefore, there will be some opportunities to get in the fields but conditions will still not be ideal especially the northern half of the state.

The latest NOAA climate information can be found at:

https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov

The lastest river and soil information can be found at:

https://www.weather.gov/ohrfc/

The latest Water Resources Outlooks can be found at:

https://www.weather.gov/ohrfc/WRO

 

Crop Observation and Recommendation Network

C.O.R.N. Newsletter is a summary of crop observations, related information, and appropriate recommendations for Ohio crop producers and industry. C.O.R.N. Newsletter is produced by the Ohio State University Extension Agronomy Team, state specialists at The Ohio State University and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). C.O.R.N. Newsletter questions are directed to Extension and OARDC state specialists and associates at Ohio State.

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