Mostly warm and dry conditions resulted in 5.8 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending June 26, 2022, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Fieldwork activities included cutting hay and spraying crops.
Topsoil moisture condition statewide rated 6 percent very short, 22 percent short, 67 percent adequate and 5 percent surplus. West central Iowa is a little drier, with topsoil moisture ratings 6 percent very short, 29 percent short, 60 percent adequate and 5 percent surplus.
Subsoil moisture condition across Iowa rated 5 percent very short, 22 percent short, 68 percent adequate and 5 percent surplus. Subsoil in west central Iowa is also drier than the state average, with ratings at 9 percent very short, 36 percent short, 51 percent adequate and 4 percent very short. South central Iowa is the driest region of the state, with 95 percent of the subsoil moisture short or very short.
Corn condition across the state rated 80 percent good to excellent.
Ninety-seven percent of soybeans have emerged, 4 days behind last year but 3 days ahead of the 5-year average. Two percent of soybeans were blooming, 12 days behind last year and 1 week behind the average. Iowa’s soybean condition rating remained 80 percent good to excellent.
Ninety-one percent of the state’s first cutting of alfalfa hay has been completed and the second cutting has started with 6 percent complete. All hay condition rated 72 percent good to excellent. Pasture condition rated 62 percent good to excellent.
Iowa preliminary weather summary provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., state climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship – Temperatures across Iowa were cooler than the previous reporting period, though still several degrees warmer than normal. Portions of northern Iowa reported positive departures of up to six degrees; the statewide average temperature was 75.4 degrees, 3.1 degrees warmer than normal. Moderate to heavy rain fell across eastern Iowa where several stations measured at least two inches of above average totals. Western Iowa remained unseasonably dry with departures approaching two inches below normal.
Southerly winds and cloudless skies boosted temperatures Sunday afternoon, June 19, into the mid 90s in western Iowa while eastern Iowa experienced mid to upper 80s. Stars were shining overnight into Monday with morning temperatures well above average, ranging from the upper 70s northwest to low 60s southwest. Sweltering conditions developed into the afternoon hours as dewpoint temperatures pushed into the low to mid 70s, creating triple-digit heat index values in the presence of mid 90-degree air temperatures and clear skies; the statewide average high was 93 degrees, 11 degrees warmer than normal.
Anomalously warm morning temperatures remained into Tuesday, June 21, with lows in the mid to upper 70s over most of Iowa under starry skies. A dry cold front pushed through Iowa during the daytime hours, shifting winds to a northwesterly direction and lowering the humidity. Temperatures remained in the upper 80s north to mid 90s south, though conditions were appreciably less muggy behind the front. Ample instability was present in southeastern Iowa to fire strong to severe thunderstorms along the surface boundary later in the evening. Several stations in south central Iowa measured at least 0.50 inch of rainfall with Rathbun Dam (Appanoose County) reporting 1.36 inches.
Skies cleared overnight into Wednesday with winds becoming light and northwesterly. The incoming airmass was dry and pleasant, allowing afternoon highs to peak in the mid to upper 80s.
Partly cloudy conditions developed in southwestern Iowa into Thursday, June 23, with overnight lows dropping into the low to mid 60s statewide. Showers skirted the Iowa-Missouri border just after noon before dissipating in the late evening. Daytime highs varied from the upper 70s southwest to the low 90s north and west. Thunderstorms formed in western Iowa later in the night and persisted across central Iowa into Friday morning. The complex lost some energy as showers moved into eastern Iowa into the afternoon hours. Several stations in Polk and Story counties measured from 1.07 inches to 1.50 inches.
A secondary, narrow line popped up in southern Iowa during the evening hours. The main disturbance fired thunderstorms in the northwest and stretched over northern Iowa overnight into Saturday, June 25, leading to flooding in Sioux and O’Brien counties. Heavy rainfall associated with stronger thunderstorms was also reported in eastern Iowa with 44 stations across the state observing at least an inch of rainfall; Iowa City (Johnson County) measured 3.75 inches while the statewide average total was 0.81 inch. An additional line of thunderstorms formed along and ahead of a cold front during the late afternoon hours dropping heavier rainfall in eastern Iowa with Muscatine (Muscatine County) picking up 1.36 inches. Overnight lows into Sunday cooled into the upper 50s in western Iowa while low to mid 60s were observed in eastern Iowa.
Weekly precipitation totals ranged from no accumulation at several western Iowa stations to 4.25 inches at Iowa City (Johnson County). The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.91 inch while the normal is 1.05 inches. Multiple stations reported the week’s high temperature of 99 degrees on June 20, 21, and 22, on average 16 degrees above normal. Audubon (Audubon County) reported the week’s low temperature of 50 degrees on the June 26, six degrees cooler than normal.
