A break from the heat has commenced as average temperatures dropped to 2-6◦F below normal this week. From May 8-14, average temperatures ran from 5◦F above normal in the southeast to 13◦F above normal in the northwest. Across the entire Midwest, there were 858 maximum and 659 minimum high temperature records broken or tied (Figure[Read More…]
Climate and Weather
Indiana seems to experience the entirety of US weather, sometimes in the same day. The recent spate of cool, wet weather has left apple scab one happy fungus (Fig. 1). Most of the state just underwent an extreme scab period, and unfortunately, few of us could do anything about it because of the combination of[Read More…]
Last week was marked by cooler temperatures and lots of rain. Field days were limited and flowers were waiting to be planted. Then came this week. Temperatures are reaching the upper 80s to low 90s with dew point temperatures over 70F (anything over 60F or 65F starts to really feel muggy). The statewide rain spigot[Read More…]
Lots of wet days, not a lot of rain It seems to be a big challenge these days to find two or more consecutive days without precipitation. What is interesting is the precipitation isn’t always coming in great amounts, but enough to impact any outdoor plans. For example, will it be dry enough for enough[Read More…]
Spring temperatures It seems like spring is progressing slowly, and in some respects it is. At this time of the year, the rate of plant development depends largely on temperature. The warmer it is, the faster plants develop. Early in the season we hope for cool weather to slow down bud development. This is so[Read More…]
One way we measure how this year’s weather compares with previous years is by looking at the accumulation of “Growing Degree Days” (GDD). This allows us to see if we’re running ahead or behind previous years at the same date. In this graph showing temperatures over the last 12 years in Lafayette, we can see[Read More…]
Many people, including me, were surprised to look out the window Monday morning and see the ground and trees white with snow. A heck of a way to start the week! Although it looked frightening to see trees, buds and flowers covered in snow, luckily temperatures did not drop too low. In general, lows were[Read More…]
Across much of Indiana, March has provided above-normal precipitation (combined rain and melted snow) except for along the Ohio River where precipitation totals were only 25%-50% of what normally fell during March from 1991-2020. Storm systems continued to bring precipitation to the state through the very end of March, likely improving conditions slightly in this[Read More…]
Purdue recently joined and became one of twenty US states that are in the NEWA network. NEWA is a partnership of land grant universities and grower associations. If you live in one of the states listed, you can buy a weather station for your farm and connect to NEWA. For Indiana growers, this means your membership is[Read More…]
A lack of abundant precipitation over the past month has caused abnormally dry conditions to expand across Indiana this week with several counties in central Indiana intensifying to the Moderate Drought stage of the US Drought Monitor (Figure 1). Some intense weather systems passed through the state this week (Figure 2), however, this was not[Read More…]