Soil Temperatures and Moisture
With temperatures running 4-18°F (south to north) above average last week, daily average soil temperatures warmed considerably (Figure 1). Most locations around Ohio are reporting daily average two- and four-inch soil temperatures in the upper 50s to low 60s, about 10 degrees warmer than the beginning of last week. With the cooldown to start this week, soils are cooling off a touch but warmer weather mid to late week should prevent them from falling too much.
Overall, it was a dry week this past week. Locations across western Ohio received less than 0.1” while portions of eastern Ohio experienced 0.5-0.75” of rain (Figure 2-left). A CoCoRaHS observed southeast of Stow in Summit County observed 1.42” this week. Soils continue to dry out from surplus March precipitation as are mostly in the 30-70th percentile (Figure 2-right). Reports indicate a dry surface with surplus sub-surface moisture still present. 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/.
Weather Forecast
We are starting the week off on the cool side, with light rain and/or snow showers falling across the state. While conditons improve on Tuesday for the sothwest half of the state, clouds and light precipitation will continue in the northeast. After a frosty start to the day on Wednesday, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday will feature a decent push of warmer air that will bring springlike conditions back to Ohio ahead of another strong cold front that will surge eastward on Friday and Saturday. This front will be accompnied by periods of showers and storms that will last into the upcoming weekend. Cool weather will also return this weekend with highs back below average in the 40s and 50s. The Weather Prediction Center is currently forecasting 0.5-1.25” of precipitation this week, heaviest in western Ohio (Figure 3).
The 6-10 day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center and the 16-Day Rainfall Outlook from NOAA/NWS/Ohio River Forecast Center show below average temperatures are likely with precipitation learning toward below average as well (Figure 4). Climate averages include a high-temperature range of 62-67°F, a low-temperature range of 42-45°F, and weekly total precipitation of about 1 inch.