News

Snow drought, above-normal temps shape Midwest weather outlook

Iowa’s state climatologist says weather outlooks through the first week of March are favorable for farmers across the Midwest.

Justin Glisan tells Brownfield, “For much of the Upper Midwest and ag belt, there’s a significant signal for warmer and wetter conditions. This would be a great signal to see given how dry we’ve been over the last several weeks.”

He says recent temperatures have been 15-to-30 degrees above average.

“It’s taking out some of that shallow frost depth. This has implications as we move forward. When we do see precipitation events, we’re more apt to see that precipitation soak into the ground, at least in the shallow profile and provide some soil moisture as opposed to running off.”

Glisan says the region has been experiencing a snow drought the last two months.

“We’ve been stuck in a split flow. Basically, a storm track is south, a storm track is north, and much of the Midwest has missed out on widespread rainfall and snowfall.”

Glisan says for Iowa specifically, this month has been the warmest February ever for the northwestern corner of the state, according to records dating back to 1893. He adds it’s been a top five driest February on record for areas stretching from the Eastern Corn Belt through the Dakotas.

Justin Glisan Audio Interview: