By the N#mbers for the Week of May 20, 2019: A Cool Summer and the Corn Belt Can’t Catch a Break
- Chad McNutt
- May 17, 2019
- 3:42 pm
21 inches of rainfall
Over the last 30-days, parts of Marion County, Texas received over 21” of rainfall according to NOAA’s precipitation analysis tool. Most of that was over the Land O’ the Pines reservoir. For those interested in percentages, that’s about 540% (17” above normal) of what would normally be received between April and May.
33% probability of temperatures being below normal this summer?
It’s hard to believe, but there is a chance temperatures this summer could be below normal. The recent trend has been for hotter summers over most of the U.S. but with the release of NOAA’s Seasonal Outlooks yesterday, they are calling for a tilt in the odds for temperatures t be below normal for a large portion of the U.S. The NOAA outlook expects current high soil moisture over the middle of the nation to hold temperatures in check well into the summer. In addition, upper soil moisture will be transported into the lower atmosphere via evapotranspiration thereby enhancing chances for summertime thunderstorms.
33% probability of rainfall being above normal this summer
The same NOAA Seasonal Outlook is also calling for a tilt in the odds of above normal rainfall over Texas and Oklahoma, and most of the Contiguous U.S., through the summer. Not exactly welcome news for many locations that are seeing saturated soils, standing water and have experienced major flooding.
3”-5” of additional rainfall over parts of the Corn Belt
Over the next 7-days 3”-5” of rainfall will fall in parts of the Corn Belt that have already received 5”-15” over the last 30-days. With planting already behind this will make catching up even more difficult. The line of the heaviest rainfall will extend from southcentral Kansas up through Topeka, Des Moines, Iowa and into Minnesota and Wisconsin.
