Justin Glisan

June 5, 2023 8:36 PM

The final June climatological outlooks from the NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) issued on May 31st continue to show similar patterns as the initial outlooks from mid-May. On the temperature side, there are higher probabilities of warmer-than-average conditions across most of Iowa. A “...

Crop Production
July 8, 2022 9:59 AM

In the evening hours of July 5, 2022, a derecho moved through South Dakota into northwest Iowa.  Gusts in South Dakota were as high as 99 mph with winds that lasted up to 20 minutes.  The path of the storm’s length was about 600 miles.  A...

Crop Production
April 13, 2022 9:08 AM

It is the time of year when forecasts become a bigger concern for Iowa crop producers. Nearly everyone has their favorite choice for getting their weather information. In this article we will be sharing weather sites we use when discussing weather issues with our crop production clients.

Crop Production
April 11, 2022 12:30 PM

Soil temperature is one of the most important factors to guide planting decisions. The rule of thumb is to wait until the upper 4 inches reach at least 50 degrees, with a warming temperature trend in the forecast. One way to track soil temperatures across Iowa is by using the...

Crop Production
February 4, 2022 1:50 PM

As we move into the final month of meteorological winter, outlooks for February continue to show a classic La Niña (LN) signature across the United States. On the temperature side, above-average probabilities for warmer temperatures are found across the East Coast and throughout much of the Sun...

Crop Production
October 25, 2021 3:27 PM

The November and the meteorological winter (December-January-February) temperature and precipitation outlooks were recently released by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC). Below is a recap of what those outlooks are predicting and the potential impacts those outlooks could have on...

Crop Production
April 9, 2021 12:21 PM

The final April climatological outlooks issued by the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) show elevated chances of warmer than average temperatures. On the precipitation front, there is no clear signal for Iowa, as outlooks continues to show a moderate La Niña configuration with above average...

Crop Production
February 8, 2021 2:28 PM

The final February climatological outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) show a strong signal for colder than average temperatures across much of the upper Midwest, including Iowa. On the precipitation front, there is an elevated...

Crop Production
November 23, 2020 1:09 PM

Unlike many recent years, fall has been very dry and soils continue to be dry over much of western Iowa.  The conditions have been excellent for harvest and fall fieldwork but troubling for soil moisture recharge.  Soils in eastern Iowa are generally better, though not wet.

Crop Production
May 4, 2020 8:26 AM

Late last week, Dr. Justin Glisan, State Climatologist of Iowa for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, wrote some really interesting comments about the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center monthly outlooks. We’ve...

Crop Production
April 7, 2020 3:54 PM

Spring has sprung! Preparations for planting across the state are in full swing. Conditions over the last 30 days have been unseasonably warm across the Midwest with positive departures of anywhere from two to four degrees. Early March had a good stretch of dry conditions; the second half of the...

Crop Production
January 21, 2020 4:39 PM

Initial February temperature and precipitation outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) indicate elevated probabilities of colder than average conditions across much of the Midwest, including Iowa (not pictured). On the precipitation side, there’s a slightly elevated signal for drier...

Crop Production
November 4, 2019 8:18 AM

The meteorological winter (December-January-February) temperature and precipitation outlooks were recently released by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC). In winter, the phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate signal typically influences temperature and precipitation...

Crop Production
August 16, 2019 8:22 AM

We've gone from being too wet to the other extreme of being dry in parts of the state. Below is a summary of the most recent US Drought Monitor (USDM) map for the state of Iowa and a brief explanation of what data goes into making the USDM.

Current Conditions in Iowa. ...

Crop Production
August 11, 2019 11:12 PM

When will the first hard freeze or killing frost (equal to or less than 28°F) date be this fall? This is a question a lot of folks are wondering about right now. Over the last few decades the trend for the first frost and freeze dates in the fall has been that they are occurring later in the...

Crop Production
July 15, 2019 4:25 PM

The weather forecast for this next week is calling for daytime high temperatures in the 90s and even in the 100s across the state and low nighttime temperatures in the 70s to 80s with little chances of rainfall. This is raising concerns on what impact this can have on the crop, especially with...

Crop Production
May 1, 2019 4:38 PM

The calendar may now say we are in the month of May, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way with the weather and with planting progress across Iowa.

Soil temp. Ideally we want soil temps at the 4” depth to be 50oF or warmer prior to planting corn. While we did...

Crop Production
April 9, 2019 9:16 PM

March more or less came in and went out like a lion. The below normal temperature trend we experienced in February continued through March, averaging 5.2 F below normal. Western and southern Iowa experienced wetter than average conditions in March while the rest of the state experienced below...

Crop Production
March 13, 2019 9:40 AM

Old man winter seems to just be hanging around, but we have had some glimpses that spring will arrive eventually.

We’ve had below normal temperatures (averaged for December, January, and February was 20.8 degrees or 1.3 degrees below normal) and above normal precipitation (total...

Crop Production