C.O.R.N. Newsletter

The calendar has turned to October, and with it, harvest and fall activities will accelerate over the next few weeks. We have already experienced a few chilly nights this past week with patchy frost in some areas, but when do we typically see our first freeze conditions? This first (last) official freeze is defined as the first fall (spring) day where the overnight low reaches 32°F.

Summary:  Precipitation across Ohio to start August has varied widely across the state (Figure 1). Wet conditions have prevailed across much of northwest and southeast Ohio (blue and purple shading), while dryness remains across portions of northeast and southwest Ohio (yellow and orange shading). After above average warmth for July, especially with overnight lows, a cooler pattern settled in across the state over the weekend. Low temperatures fell into the upper 40s to low 50s across much of Ohio on Saturday morning.

May worked out as forecast with a wet start followed by a gradual planting window.

Looking forward, the variable weather pattern continues in the short-term with temperatures continuing to fluctuate.

June Growing Season Outlook

April was a challenging month. It was a cold month with most of Ohio -1F to -3F below normal for temperatures. We saw late freezes and snow events. Because of the cold, precipitation was generally around or slightly below normal in the 60-120% of normal range. However, with limited evaporation and evapotranspiration, soils did not dry much.