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Slowly Improving Conditions Next 1-2 Weeks For Planting

16 day total precipitation from May 2
The main headline going forward the next 1-2 week across the corn and soybean belt as a whole is for improving conditions for planting across the region so expect to see increasing planting from west to east in the next 1-2 weeks.

Mother Nature has decided not to be so nice lately to us. As we talked last week we expected some frost May 15 and 16 and this is exactly what occurred. For the most part temperatures dropped to 31-36F Monday morning but it was mainly a frost event and no hard freeze as that requires temperatures below 28 for at least 3 hours and this appears to not have occurred. There was some lake effect snow mainly on grassy areas in far northeast Ohio as well.
 
So what to expect going forward. As we talked last week it appears the below normal temperatures would hang on through about May 22 or so.  This still looks to be the case. Temperatures this week will average 4-8 degrees below normal. At the same time, weather systems will move through on Tuesday then again late Friday into Saturday but the main focus will be the southern half of Ohio. Rainfall for the week will range from about 0.25 inches in the north to near 1 inch in the far south. Overall, this will mean below normal precipitation in most areas as well. Evapotranspiration with the cool weather will be below normal as well so drying will be slow but overall this week should not be as bad as last week.
 
I can't rule out some patchy frost in far eastern Ohio and northeast Ohio the middle of this week with low temperatures 35-40 degrees but again no hard freezes are expected.
 
Going into the last full week of May we should see more dry days than wet with temperatures shifting to 1-3F above normal as we forecast last week as well.

The outlook through May 22 calls for temperatures below normal and rainfall normal to slightly below normal. The outlook from May 23 through May 31 calls for temperatures above normal and rainfall not far from normal or slightly below normal. Normal rainfall is about an inch per week.

Dates                             Weather Element    Outlook
May 17 - May 22             Temperatures         -4F to -8F
May 17 - May 22             Rainfall                  0.25-1.0 inches north to south

May 23 - May 31             Temperatures          +1F to +3F
May 23 - May 31             Rainfall                  0.75-1.0 inches

The two week rainfall outlook can be seen in the graphic. Normal rainfall for the period is about 2 inches.

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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