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CFAES Ag Weather System 2022 Near-Surface Air and Soil Temperatures/Moisture (Update 2)

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.

We continued the rollercoaster ride with our temperatures this past week but ended up running 2-7°F below the long-term mean (1991-2020). This led to a small overall increase in two- and four-inch soil temperatures (Fig. 1). Ashtabula and Northwest ended the week with daily average soil in the mid-40s, while the remaining stations across the CFAES Ag Weather System show temperatures in the upper 40s. Though rain is in the forecast, warmer air temperatures this week should continue to the slow warmup in soil temperatures.  

Despite an active weather pattern across Ohio to end winter, the start of spring has been surprisingly on the dry side. Precipitation over the 30 days is running 25-75% of normal for much of the Buckeye State (Fig. 2-left), with only the far northwestern counties in Ohio running above normal for this period. This has allowed soils to dry out from the early season surplus, with much of the state running just a bit above normal on soil moisture (Fig. 2-right). A wet weather week ahead will likely turn this recent trend around a bit as we head into mid-April.

Figure 2.

Figure 2: (Left) Precipitation percent of normal for the last 30-days. Figure provided by the Midwestern Regional Climate Center. (Right) Calculated soil moisture percentiles as of 4/10/2022 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.