By Jim Noel
The overall trend, as we discussed earlier this year, was expected to be toward warmer and drier weather and this has been occurring.
Spring is in the books and it went down as warmer temperatures and near normal rainfall for Ohio as seen in the attached graphics. The exception was north-central Ohio which was wetter than normal
What is in store for the rest of June and July you ask?
The trend is your friend. We expect warmer and drier to be the rule from late June through July.
The good news...even though we are expecting above normal temperatures through July, it does not appear to be extreme heat. This may not be far from ideal conditions for extra growing degree days.
The bad news...crops may feel the stress in July as rainfall will be hit and miss.
Rest of June Outlook...
Temperatures will average 4-8F above normal. However, most maximum temperatures will stay below 92F and most minimum temperatures will stay above 60F. Therefore, the temperatures may be a benefit to growing degree days without the high heat stress.
Rainfall will be wildly dependent in individual thunderstorms ranging from 0.25 to 2.00 inches for the rest of the month. Normal is about 1.50 inches so most places will be at or below normal. Most of this rainfall will occur with a series of storms through this Thursday then again Sunday June 26 and Monday June 27. After June 27 it looks fairly dry into the 4th of July.
July Outlook...
Temperatures will continue above normal likely 2-5F. Rainfall will likely be 25-75% of normal. Normal is 3-4 inches.
Drought Outlook...
I am expecting areas of minor drought to be expanding across Ohio through July. Some pockets of moderate drought can not be ruled out. However, we do not see any extreme type drought situation at this time, just on the drier side of things overall. This will not be as dry as 2012 by any means or as hot! This will be in association with the developing La Nina condition in the Pacific Ocean. It is not uncommon for some drought to challenge crops in Ohio during those events. All indications are the dryness could last until December in Ohio when wetter conditions often start during La Nina events.
Source:osu.edu