Midwestern farmers have faced a buildup of pesticide resistance in pigweeds (waterhemp and Palmer amaranth), highlighting the importance of scouting to detect weeds early in their growth stages.
181 articles tagged "Indiana Weather & Climate Report".
What do you think of when you hear the word climate? I would guess answers would range from ‘average weather conditions’ to ‘hot, muggy summers’ to ‘climate change’ to ‘environmental policies and politics’. What a range! Fields of climate can vary from paleoclimate studies (e.g., ice cores and tree rings), to applied climate science (e.g., architectural design and vector-borne diseases like West Nile Virus and Malaria), to climate modeling (e.g., lots of physical equations and computers), to climate change (e.g., ‘but the polar bears, Daddy!’), to climate services (e.g., data translated into information). Among all this diversity, the common thread is the consideration and correlations of what has occurred in our atmosphere historically to better understand and prepare for current and future decisions. Since the late 1800s, our country has had an organized effort to collect observational data (e.g., temperature and precipitation) at hundreds of locations so we can monitor[Read More…]
Despite the wet start to the month, the entire state saw less than 50 percent of normal rainfall from April 10 to 16, and in some cases, less than 10 percent of normal rainfall (Figure 1).
There is the common adage “April showers bring May flowers”. Apparently, Mother Nature utilized a rather liberal definition of “showers” last weekend and the end of last week by dumping over seven inches of rain in southern Indiana.
Indiana has already experienced several tornadoes this year with more certainly to come. Of course, this is not unusual since Indiana is often considered on the far northeastern edge of “Tornado Alley”.
If one looks at the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map for Indiana (Figure 1), one might scratch their head – particularly as it has been raining and the chance for severe weather is in the forecast for this weekend.
Spring field operations have already begun across the state, including tillage, anhydrous ammonia applications, and even some planting. Temperatures look up from here, but we cannot rule out periods of cooler conditions between now and May that could impact crop emergence. As of March 18, 2025, the 7-day average 4-inch soil temperature at the Purdue Agronomy Farm (ACRE) was 40.5°F, according to data derived from the Purdue Mesonet Data Hub. Daily soil temperature data can be accessed through the Data Hub, which can be downloaded to compute 7-day running average temperatures. A future update will allow 7-day soil temperatures to be readily accessible. How does the current soil temperature compare to those of previous years? A collaboration between the Midwestern Regional Climate Center (MRCC) and the USDA Midwest Climate Hub has resulted in the Soil Temperature Climatology Tool, which can provide that answer. This tool offers historical statistics for 4-inch[Read More…]
It happens every year. A warm wave moves into the area, and I immediately get the urge to run to the nursery and start planting for the spring. Of course, there is another little voice inside my head warning me to not fall for it. There are plenty of other things I can do outside to start prepping for spring. Perhaps I’m just anxious to liven things up a bit; break out of the winter hibernation. This past week was certainly one of those weeks. Are we passed the point of having any more freeze events? When does the last freeze event typically occur for my area? For curious readers, the Midwestern Regional Climate Center has a tool – the Freeze Date Tool (https://mrcc.purdue.edu/freeze/freezedatetool) – that can help answer this question (Figure 1). Utilizing historical observation data that has been gridded to the county level, users can select their temperature[Read More…]
Indiana has had its fair share of very cold temperatures this winter.
The 2024 growing season in Indiana started with unseasonably warm temperatures, leading to early vegetation dormancy break—late February in the south and mid-March in the central and northern areas. April’s wet conditions posed challenges for early planting, but crops sown early benefited from good soil moisture, while later plantings suffered from limited rainfall in June. In early July, remnants of Hurricane Beryl provided much-needed rain, improving conditions briefly. However, drought re-emerged in August and September, with significant impacts across over two-thirds of counties, leading to burn bans and several fires, including a tragic incident resulting in a farmer’s death in Clinton County. Despite these difficulties, harvest was mostly complete by late October. The season ended with temperatures 1°F to over 2°F above normal and predominantly drier precipitation patterns, although some northern and eastern areas saw slightly above-normal rainfall. Variability in weather was evident in the monthly and seasonal averages, with[Read More…]
