DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa farmers will enter the fields next month for the 2015 planting season, and weather is already on their minds.
But State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says it?s a little early to be certain about anything weather-wise beyond the National Weather Service?s two-week forecast.
Broadly, Hillaker says it?s been dry around the U.S. this year. For Iowa, he notes that this month is shaping up to be the eighth driest March on record. The only real exception has been in the northeastern parts of the state, which recently saw snowfall that missed the rest of the state.
“Otherwise, it’s been a very dry month,” Hillaker explains, “and interestingly enough that’s been kind of the pattern. Over the last 15 or 20 years, we’ve had a lot of dry Marches in Iowa, and then we’ve had 10 consecutive wetter-than-normal Aprils, and so there’s nothing on the horizon just yet that says this is going to be the 11th consecutive wet April, but 10 in a row is quite a streak that we have going there. So, I guess wait and see how that works out this year.”
Hillaker also notes that Iowa?s soil moisture profile is well-positioned for planting this year. That?s largely due to late precipitation at the end of last year’s growing season. While it also means only a little rainfall could cause flooding, Hillaker says likelihood of flooding is currently below average. However, if the weather this year repeats itself, this April could be a wet one.
“[We] got ridiculous amounts of rain starting in the middle of June,” Hillaker observed of last year’s weather. “[And the rain] went on into the latter part of that month as well, so just a quite a variety of conditions a year ago indicating things can really turn around, in a big way, quickly. But right now, it’s kind of an odd situation of good soil moisture, but not really high prospects of flooding in the near future.”>
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To hear more about planting weather from State Climatologist Harry Hillaker, click the audio player above this story.
