Spring planting forecast

By Jim Noel, NOAA

Last autumn much of Ohio was drier than normal. Ohio saw anywhere from 60%-100% of normal rainfall, except for far southern Ohio which was hit by the remnants of Hurricane Helene allowing for rainfall of 100%-125% of normal.

During the winter, we did see a slight wetting across most of Ohio except in northwest Ohio. Precipitation was generally 95%-110% of normal. This allowed for drought improvement across most of the state except far northwest Ohio where precipitation was 75%-95% of normal. Hence, some drought lingers in the far northwest part of the state.

The weather pattern since autumn has been a rotating pattern of 2-4 weeks of warm and wet followed by 2-4 weeks of cold and dry. This rotating pattern is likely to persist into our spring planting season. The temperature forecast calls for temperatures slightly warmer than normal (0-+2 degrees F). However, there will be a lot of swings in those temperatures on a 2-4 week basis.… Continue reading