Hot, muggy days in Indiana can get old, quickly! With all the rain lately, and higher humidity, it has been a challenge to get any nighttime relief. Fortunately, the next few days and through the weekend should be quite a pleasant change. Temperatures should be in the 70s and by the middle of next week should climb into the mid 80s. Average high temperatures for the first few weeks of August (1991-2020) are in the 80s, so temperatures should feel normal next week (what a change!). Humidity is expected to stay relatively high, so that feeling of mugginess is likely to linger. By the end of next week into the following week, however, temperatures are expected to return to above normal levels. Precipitation outlooks are slightly favoring above normal amounts over the next few weeks, keeping humidity high, morning dew likely, and localized morning fog possible. This may provide highly conducive conditions for plant diseases so keep scouting for signs of development.
July temperatures were above normal across Indiana by 3-6 degrees. Precipitation was far more variable with southern counties receiving up to 5 inches (over 175% of normal) more than normal. Northern counties were highly varied due to very localized precipitation events. Some areas received 4 to 5 inches above normal amounts while other areas received up to 2 inches below normal precipitation (Figure 1)! In general, however, drought and abnormally dry conditions have been improving with only about 3% of the state in drought and about 17% considered abnormally dry (Figure 2).