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Farming With the Weather
By Sam Custer
OSU Extension, Darke County
The tractors are beginning to roll in Darke County but the spring
weather can be frustrating to those that must work in it. On
Friday the forecast for this week looked like it was going to be a
perfect week for getting a majority of the corn and soybean acres
planted in our county. Then the forecast changed and it looks
like a 30-50% chance of rain most days and a chance of frost on Monday
morning.
Within a week farmers, golfers and parents of spring sports athletes
will be able to track precipitation totals from around the
county. CoCoRaHS is an organization made up of volunteers who
report precipitation totals across the country. Next week we will
add ten rain gauges and CoCoRaHS volunteers to Darke County. You
can see the daily reports from each station in the county at
www.cocorahs.org. We would like to thank all of our volunteers for
their commitment.
In our Monday morning conference call Jim Noel from the National
Weather Service gave the following report:
The trend in Ohio weather continues to be within the normal range of
uncertainty for May and there is little weather information to say we
will deviate too far from that in the coming weeks. Hence, planting and
soil conditions will be pretty good in the coming weeks.
The National Weather Service Ohio River Forecast Center 90-day soil
moisture models continue to say not too far from normal. Another
interesting fact is Ohio is having its 4th quietest severe weather
season in the last 20 year through early May. This supports how we
discussed last year that 2013 would be more of a normal year compared
to the extremes we saw in 2011 and 2012. This does not mean no extremes
as normals are made of extreme by nature. However, the number of
extreme events looks to be reduced in 2013 and this should lead to a
decent growing season compared to 2011 or 2012 from a weather
standpoint.
Temperatures for the week of May 6-12 will be near normal. Rainfall
will be 0.50 to 1.50 inches with normal near 1 inch. Therefore,
rainfall is forecast near normal with the best chances early in the
week in the south and east then late week into the beginning of the
weekend statewide. After the cold front passes on May 11 we will get a
quick shot of cold air Sunday into Monday. The morning of May 13 may
see areas of frost. Some low lying areas could even see temperatures
around 32F for a late season minor freeze. We talked about the
increased risk for a late season freeze in March 2013 and we already
have had that but mid-May is pushing it but there is a chance and we
wanted to alert you.
Temperatures for the week of May 13-20 will be slightly above normal as
a high pressure ridge builds over the region. Normal highs are 65-73F
from north to south and lows near 45. Temperatures will start cold May
13 but quickly turn into the 70s and will average 0-3 degrees above
normal for the week. Much of the week will be dry allowing for more
planting to resume. A rain system will move through late week into the
weekend of May 17-19. Rainfall is forecast to be near to below normal.
Rainfall is forecast to be 0.50 to 1.00 on average. Normal is near 1
inch.
For more detailed information, visit the Darke County OSU Extension web
site at www.darke.osu.edu, the OSU Extension Darke County Facebook page
or contact Sam Custer, at 937.548.5215.
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