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CFAES Ag Weather System 2022 Near-Surface Air and Soil Temperatures/Moisture (Update 1)

CFAES Near-Surface Air and Soil Temperatures

Figure 1: Daily average air temperature (dashed red), two-inch (green) and four-inch (blue) soil temperatures for spring 2022. Current daily average soil temperatures are noted for each location. Soil type and location of measurements (under sod or bare soil) are provided in the lower right corner of each panel. A map of all locations is in the bottom right.  Data provided by the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) Agricultural Research Stations located throughout the state.

Despite temperatures running 2-5°F above average for the month of March, damp conditions and below average temperatures to start April have daily average soil temperatures running in the upper 30s across northern Ohio to the upper 40s across the south. This is much cooler than this time last year (~10 degrees). Though a warmup is expected midweek, cooler conditions later this week will likely keep soil temperatures on the cool side through the upcoming weekend.

Much of Ohio has experienced an active weather pattern since late winter, though the storm tracks have shifted northward of late. Even though much of Ohio is running well above average so far in 2022, March was dry for areas along and southeast of about I-71 (Fig. 2-left), with up to 2.5 inches below normal (or 25-75% of normal). After maxing out above the 80th percentile in soil moisture, conditions are approaching normal for this time of year across the state (Fig. 2-right). As discussed in the forecast article this week, a damp cool pattern is expected to continue which may hamper soil conditions over the next couple of weeks.

Figure 2

Figure 2: (Left) March 2022 precipitation difference (in inches) compared to the long-term average. Figure provided by the Midwestern Regional Climate Center. (Right) Calculated soil moisture percentiles as of 4/3/2022 according to the Climate Prediction Center.

For more complete weather records for CFAES research stations, including temperature, precipitation, growing degree days, and other useful weather observations, please visit https://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weather1/.

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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.