Warmer than normal temperatures and no precipitation allowed Iowa farmers 6.6 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending Nov. 8, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Fieldwork activities again included harvesting corn and soybeans, baling corn stalks, applying fertilizer and manure, and tillage.
Topsoil moisture condition statewide rated 16 percent very short, 36 percent short, and 48 percent adequate. Topsoil moisture in west central Iowa rated 28 percent very short, 50 percent short, and 22 percent adequate.
Subsoil moisture condition across Iowa rated 23 percent very short, 36 percent short, and 41 percent adequate. Ratings in west central Iowa were 51 percent very short, 37 percent short and 12 percent adequate.
Only 6 percent of Iowa’s corn for grain crop remains to be harvested, almost 4 weeks ahead of last year and more than 2 weeks ahead of the 5-year average. Statewide, the moisture content of field corn being harvested for grain remained at 15 percent. Farmers in northwest, north central and west central Iowa have less than 5 percent of their corn for grain remaining to be harvested while farmers in south central Iowa still have over 15 percent to be harvested.
Only 2 percent of Iowa’s soybean crop remains to be harvested, almost 3 weeks ahead of last year and 10 days ahead of average. Farmers in most of the state have only scattered fields left to harvest. Livestock producers continue to allow cattle to graze on corn stalks.
Iowa preliminary weather summary provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., state climatologist Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship – The first week of November brought unseasonably warm conditions across Iowa with positive temperature departures between 10 and 18 degrees reported in northwest Iowa. The statewide average temperature was 54.2 degrees, 13.4 degrees warmer than normal. This reporting period was also the driest experienced across Iowa since the week ending at 7 am on Sept. 20, as no measurable precipitation fell statewide.
Sunny skies persisted through Sunday afternoon, Nov. 1, with gusty northwesterly winds forced by the close proximity of a high pressure center over the Dakotas and a low pressure system over the Great Lakes. Temperatures were unseasonably cool, ranging from the upper 30s northeast to upper 40s southwest. Morning lows on Monday were chilly in northern Iowa with upper teens reported at multiple stations; mid 20s were observed across the rest of the state under mostly clear conditions with the statewide average low of 22 degrees, 11 degrees below normal. Afternoon temperatures rebounded into the 60s statewide as a westerly wind brought in a warmer air mass.
Tuesday, Nov. 3, was the warmest day of the week with a statewide average high of 75 degrees, 21 degrees warmer than normal; multiple stations reported record high temperatures for the date with Spencer 1 N (Clay County) observing 79 degrees, 29 degrees above average. Clear conditions remained overnight with lows on Wednesday morning holding in the 40s under starry skies. Southerly winds throughout the day helped temperatures again climb into the 70s, anywhere from 12 to 28 degrees above normal at given stations throughout Iowa.
Thursday, Nov. 5, was another pleasant day with variable winds and mostly sunny skies. Highs remained in the 70s, continuing a streak of warmer than average days. Hazy conditions were observed over the early evening hours, leading to vivid sunsets across Iowa. Warmer than average low temperatures were reported Friday morning as southerly winds held temperatures in the upper 30s to mid 40s. A low pressure system propagating through the Upper Midwest increased southerly wind speeds, leading to windy and warm conditions in the afternoon as highs pushed into the mid to upper 70s.
Iowa experienced similar conditions through Saturday, Nov. 7, with beautiful, sunny skies and low 70s. Overnight lows into Sunday morning were well above average, generally in the upper 40s and low-to-mid 50s. The statewide average low was 51 degrees, 21 degrees above normal with Decorah (Winneshiek County) observing 57 degrees, 26 degrees warmer than the climatological average.
While the normal statewide weekly average precipitation is 0.53 inch, no National Weather Service coop stations in Iowa reported measurable totals. Shenandoah (Page County) reported the week’s high temperature of 81 degrees on Nov. 3, 24 degrees warmer than normal. Elkader 6 SSW (Clayton County) and Fayette (Fayette County) reported the week’s low temperature of 15 degrees on Nov. 2, on average 17 degrees below normal. Four-inch soil temperatures as of Sunday were generally in the upper 40s east to mid 50s west.
