Rain, rain, go away! I hesitate to scream that too loud, though, for fear of a drought. That seems to be the weather and climate, these days – one extreme or another. For temperature, April finished close to normal. However, it was characterized by temperatures that seemed either too cool or too warm. Precipitation, on the other hand, was on the wetter side for the month with southern and eastern parts of the state receiving over 175% of normal April amounts. Will this continue? For the next several weeks, there is strong confidence that precipitation will remain above normal. Temperatures will likely start off cool and then become warmer near the end of next week. The climate outlooks for May are showing increasing probabilities of warmer temperatures with above-normal precipitation. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center’s Soil Moisture product, as of 30 April 2019, most of Indiana is showing around 600mm of soil moisture – or 60-80mm above average (Figure 1)! No need to start irrigating those fields quite yet (Figure 2).
Taken in Knox County on the “banks” of the White River. (Photo credit: Hans Schmitz)
