Soil Temperatures and Moisture
Figure 1: Daily average air temperature (dashed red), two-inch (green) and four-inch (blue) soil temperatures for spring 2024. 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.
Though daily average soil temperatures continued to climb most of last week, a late week cold front dropped two-inch and four-inch soil temperatures back down into the upper 40s to upper 50s (Figure 1).
It was yet another active week for severe weather, with five additional confirmed tornadoes (Champaign, Crawford, Delaware, Portage, and Trumbull Counties). This brings the state’s total to 35 in 2024, with peak season just beginning. Ohio normally sees about 20 tornadoes per year.
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Figure 2: (Top) Precipitation (inches) for the 7-day period ending April 22, 2024 courtesy of the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service. (Bottom) Soil moisture percentile for 0-40cm depth as of Calculated soil moisture percentiles as of April 22, 2024, according to the NASA SPoRT-LIS product. |
Rainfall was plentiful once again (Figure 2). Most of the state rceived 0.5-1.5”, with pockets over 2” in southern Hocking and northern Vinton Counties. Small creeks and streams flooded again, with high flows on all the major rivers. Soils remain saturated compared to late winter conditions (Figure 2). Cool conditions will continue early this week, but a warming trend over the weekend should bump soil temperatures up into the 50s to low 60s by early next week.
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 started Monday morning off chilly, with widespread frost across the state. A beautiful day on Monday has given way to more clouds and an increasing chance of rainshowers on Tuesday with cooler than average highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s. Showers should exit the state on Wednesday, with high pressure settling in and cooler highs in the upper 40s to low 60s (north to south). This will lead to another cold night Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Depending on clouds and location, frost is likely Thursday morning and some areas may fall off into the upper 20s to low 30s. We will see a warming trend beginning on Thursday, with 70s returning for Friday and Saturday. Southern Ohio may see highs in the low 80s by Sunday and Monday. However, scattered showers and storms will be possible Friday through Sunday. Overall, the Weather Prediction Center is currently forecasting 0.55-1.50” of precipitation over the next 7 days, with the heavier amounts across northwest Ohio (Figure 3).
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Figure 3). Precipitation forecast from the Weather Prediction Center for 8pm Monday April 22 – 8pm Monday April 29, 2024. |
The 6-10 day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center and the 16-Day Rainfall Outlook from NOAA/NWS/Ohio River Forecast Center show strong likelihood for above average temperatures with near to above average precipitation (Figure 4). Climate averages include a high-temperature range of 65-70°F, a low-temperature range of 43-48°F, and weekly total precipitation of 0.90-1.15”.
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Figure 4) Climate Prediction Center 6-10 Day Outlook valid for April 28 - May 2, 2024, for left) temperatures and right) precipitation. Colors represent the probability of below, normal, or above normal conditions. |