Rain! Finally! Never so happy to see it!
by Thomas deHaas and Dr. Aaron Wilson
Plants gave a collective sigh of relief after the past weekend’s gentle rain.
So, what does the future have in store?
Ornamental plants, lawns, and crops really needed the rain. It was a soft gentle rain that covered most of the state of Ohio. Rainfall amounts ranged between .5 inches to up to 3.5 inches depending on duration and location.
Total precipitation over the period 12am June 7 – 12am June 13, 2023. Figure courtesy of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center.
Parts of Northwest Ohio received less than half an inch of rain where Northeast Ohio along the Lake Erie shoreline approached 3 inches.
Even though the rain was welcome, we were so dry that it probably won’t bring us out of drought conditions or status.
Field crops benefitted from the rain.
Corn
and Soybean look much better
as well as Wheat.
Turf that was not irrigated suffered stress and possible crown death.
Soil was so dry, cracks were very pronounced.
In addition, irrigation pond levels fell drastically. Many have not recovered.
Now:
Last Winter:
(I was not driving the truck!)
But in Northeast Ohio, more rain fell.
So, what does the future hold regarding moisture and drought conditions?
Dr. Aaron Wilson, Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University and State Climatologist, who specializes in Climate and Weather made the following observations:
“This week is presenting multiple opportunities for rainfall, especially along the I-70 corridor, with lighter amounts across northern and southern Ohio. Current outlooks covering conditions through June 26th show near normal temperatures and precipitation are expected. Certainly, the recent wet conditions have brought some relief, but dry conditions are likely to linger into July for many parts of the state. Be sure to follow Extension’s resource page at go.osu.edu/ohiodrought”
Climate Prediction Center 8-14 Day Precipitation Outlook valid for June 20-26, 2023. Figure courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center.
So what does the future hold for the rest of the month?
As I always told my students, "If this weather keeps up, we're gonna get more of it!"
