(KNSI) – Mother Nature has taken up dry January in Minnesota this year.
Long-term records from the University of Minnesota show that the state has been this parched to start a year only four other times since 1961. Soil Scientist Jeff Strock says that if the past is a predictor for the future, things will likely turn out alright for farmers by the time the growing season comes around.
“I went back in our long, long term data set that goes back to 1961…In that record, we have only had five years of this dry of January…When you start looking at May, three out of the four years that were really, really dry in January were actually at or above average in May precipitation.”
The University of Minnesota professor reiterates that data for June, July, and August also tended to be wetter than average for years with a slow start.
The news for farmers could get even better as he expects the severe frost will prove too much to handle for pests. “When we get these really deep freezes, like we just recently had, and there’s no snow cover, corn rootworm larva and the insects that are overwintering probably had some deaths. There was some mortality because there’s no snow, there’s no buffer in there, which can be good for the next growing season.”
Strock admits that the worst-case scenario is enough to keep him up at night. In November 2023, average soil moisture was above average across the state. It had dropped by two inches into dry conditions by November 2024. A fall drought with light snow has the potential to turn the state into a tinder box. Strock expects frequent red flag warnings and high fire danger if we don’t see improvement by spring.
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