Scattered rainfall and some hail combined with mild temperatures resulted in 3.9 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending June 12, 2022, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. Fieldwork activities included cutting hay and grass, and less wind allowed more chemical applications.
Topsoil moisture conditions statewide rated 2 percent very short, 9 percent short, 79 percent adequate and 10 percent surplus. Rating in west central Iowa were 3 percent very short, 17 percent short, 70 percent adequate and 10 percent surplus.
Subsoil moisture conditions across Iowa rated 3 percent very short, 16 percent short, 75 percent adequate and 6 percent surplus. In west central Iowa subsoil moisture conditions rated 7 percent very short, 32 percent short, 55 percent adequate and 6 percent surplus.
Row crop planting was virtually complete. There were reports of recent weather issues making corn or soybean replant necessary for some producers. Corn emergence reached 95 percent, one week behind last year but one day ahead of the 5-year average. Corn condition rating remained 86 percent good to excellent.
Ninety-seven percent of soybeans have been planted, eight days behind last year but four days ahead of the 5-year average. Eighty-four percent of soybeans have emerged, one week behind last year but two days ahead of average. Iowa’s soybean condition rated 82 percent good to excellent.
Fifty-nine percent of the state’s first cutting of alfalfa hay has been completed, six days behind last year. All hay condition rated 71 percent good to excellent. Pasture condition rated 65 percent good to excellent. There was a report of an increase in the fly population affecting livestock.
Weather summary provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., state climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship – An active storm track brought several waves of showers and thunderstorms across Iowa through the reporting period. Many stations across the southern three-quarters of Iowa observed above-normal rainfall totals with pockets of up to 5 inches above-average departures in west-central Iowa. Temperatures were also near normal over much of the state with cooler conditions reported in eastern Iowa. The statewide average temperature was 68.5 degrees, 0.50 degree below normal.
Showers continued to skirt northern Iowa through Sunday afternoon, June 5, with additional thunderstorms firing across west-central Iowa into the evening hours. Clouds over the state’s northern one-third held daytime highs in the upper 60s and low 70s while low 80s were observed through the rest of Iowa. A few of the thunderstorms were severe-warned in central Iowa due to scattered reports of one-inch hail in Clive (Polk County) and gusty straight-line winds; sluggish storms training over Dallas, Guthrie and Boone counties produced a flood warning as well as totals over four inches at several stations; two stations near Madrid (Boone County) measured 4.21 and 4.65 inches, respectively.
The area of rain expanded across eastern Iowa with scattered showers behind the initial disturbance into Monday morning. Only a handful of locations in southeastern Iowa received no rain while many stations across a central west-to-east swath of Iowa reporting at least 0.75 inch with a statewide average rainfall at 0.68 inch. Another concentrated line of thunderstorms formed ahead of a cold front later in the morning and dove southeast through central Iowa. Heavy downpours were associated with the line through the afternoon with a gauge in Prole (Warren County) collecting 1.65 inches. Winds shifted a northerly direction with temperatures ranging from the upper 60s northwest to low 80s southeast.
Overnight lows into Tuesday, June 7, did not drop appreciably and hovered in the upper 50s and low 60s. Sunny skies prevailed through the day, though clouds increased in western Iowa later in the evening as thunderstorms formed ahead of a strong low pressure center. One cell spawned a tornado known as a landspout (short-lived and relatively weak) near Orient (Adair County). As the rain shield filled in, additional severe thunderstorms produced hail and straight-line wind reports in southwestern Iowa. Moderate rainfall was reported across portions of southern Iowa as the disturbance moved out of the state.
Rain totals reported at 7 am on Wednesday were generally less than 0.40 inch with a pocket of heavier totals near Clarinda (Page County) which measured 2.10 inches. Elma (Howard County) also observed 1.47 inches from a narrow line of thunderstorms that formed in northeastern Iowa just before sunrise. Northerly winds and mostly sunny skies led to pleasant temperatures in the low to mid 70s.
Partly cloudy skies were reported in central Iowa overnight into Thursday, July 9, as temperatures cooled into the upper 50s. Rain showers spread across Iowa through the day leaving measurable totals at most Iowa’s stations; amounts were in the 0.25 – 0.50 inch range over much of western Iowa though Ringsted (Emmet County) observed 0.93 inch. Showers persisted in eastern Iowa through Friday afternoon with highs in the upper 70s west and upper 60s east under cloud cover.
Another weather disturbance brought showers and thunderstorms into northwestern Iowa overnight and into Saturday morning, June 11. Stronger storms fired in the late afternoon hours in southwestern Iowa with some cells turning severe. A stagnant line of thunderstorms also formed in eastern Iowa later in the night with thundershowers remaining in eastern Iowa after sunrise on Sunday. Pockets of heavy rainfall from stronger cells were observed in west central and eastern Iowa with Perry (Dallas County) measuring 1.40 inches and 1.71 inches reported at Anamosa (Jones County).
Weekly precipitation totals ranged from 0.26 inch at Storm Lake (Buena Vista County) to 4.45 inches at Perry. The statewide weekly average precipitation was 1.58 inches while the normal is 1.12 inches. Sioux City Airport (Woodbury County) reported the week’s high temperature of 92 degrees on June 11, 11 degrees warmer than normal. Emmetsburg (Palo Alto County) reported the week’s low temperature of 46 degrees on June 7, 11 degrees cooler than normal.
