WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – Barring a surprise storm this fall, 2013 will be a record low year for tornadoes in Iowa, with the fewest storms since comprehensive tracking began 33 years ago. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports 15 tornadoes tore through Iowa this year. The National Weather Service says that’s one less than the previous low of 16 set in 2012.
The weather service says Iowa’s tornado season also was the shortest on record, stretching over 38 days from a May 19 storm near Adel to a June 26 twister near Vincent. Since comprehensive tracking began in 1980, a report by meteorologist Craig Cogil says Iowa has averaged 47 tornadoes a year.
Tornadoes in the fall are unlikely but possible. Since 1980, there have been 92 tornadoes in September, October, November and December.
Drought conditions are worsening across Iowa with 98-percent of the state now in some form of drought and 42-percent in severe drought. Joel De Jong, an agronomist with the Iowa State University Extension, says crop conditions are actually in good shape in northwest Iowa, as the region’s gotten some moisture. De Jong says given the late planting this spring, some plants are being forced to mature faster.
“That doesn’t give us as much time to fill those kernels and fill those bean pods,” he says. “Yet, I still think we’re tolerating the drought reasonably well. We had some rainfall in August and it’s helping us out.” De Jong says further east, crop conditions drop off dramatically. He says to the south, in the Denison and Carroll areas where corn silage harvest has begun, some of that is being combined. He says one more good rain would help carry northwest Iowa crops through.
“We are still filling bean pods in a lot of fields and we’re filling kernels in a lot of fields,” he says. “A little more moisture helps get us a little more dry matter and moderating these temperatures is going to do some of the same thing.” While highs last week were in the hundreds in parts of Iowa, highs now are back in the 60s and 70s.
Few problems are reported with plant diseases, although there have been signs of sudden death syndrome and white mold as well as soybean cyst nematode. He says there have also been some spots of Goss’s Wilt along the Iowa-Minnesota border.
(Radio Iowa)
Iowa’s weather has cooled off significantly in the past few days, but conditions are still extremely dry. Bans on open burning are now in effect in seven Iowa counties. Dan Wood, with the Iowa Fire Prevention Bureau, is urging residents to be extremely careful with fire, even in places where there isn’t a ban. Fire chiefs and emergency managers get together and assess the threat, he says, especially with crops drying and the danger from people intentionally setting fire to weeds in ditches or fields.
Looking at the forecast, which only calls for a few scattered showers, Wood says it’s likely more counties will ask the Fire Prevention Bureau to approve more burn bans. “When conditions are drier than normal and things are dry, fire tends to move faster and it’s easier to catch things on fire simply because there’s no moisture in the ground and there’s no moisture in the leaves and grass,” Wood says. “It’s easier for things to catch on fire and it moves quicker and can really get away from you.” Wood says each individual county and fire protection district will decide when to end their bans on open burning. The current list includes: Audubon, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Muscatine, Scott, and Webster.
(Radio Iowa)
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343 AM CDT FRI SEP 13 2013
EARLY THIS MORNING…MOSTLY CLEAR. COOLER. NORTHEAST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.
TODAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 70S. EAST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.
TONIGHT…CLEAR. LOW IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTHEAST WIND AROUND 5 MPH.
SATURDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 70S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.
SATURDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN SHOWERS LIKELY AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AFTER MIDNIGHT. WARMER. LOW IN THE UPPER 50S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 70 PERCENT.
SUNDAY…SHOWERS LIKELY AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE LOWER 70S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHEAST 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 60 PERCENT.
SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE MID 50S.
MONDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH AROUND 70. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 30 PERCENT.
MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. LOW IN THE UPPER 50S. HIGH IN THE UPPER 70S.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Heat and little rain continue to intensify the drought in several states including primary crop growing areas. The national drought monitor report released Thursday says in Iowa, the nation’s largest corn producer, severe drought spread to nearly 42 percent of the state up from 32 percent a week ago. The drought monitor tracks conditions from Sept. 3 through Tuesday morning.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says about a third of corn and soybeans are in good or excellent condition in Iowa down from more than half rated in those categories a month ago. In Nebraska, where drought increased in some areas, non-irrigated corn is in similar shape.
Drought worsened in portions of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
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343 AM CDT THU SEP 12 2013
EARLY THIS MORNING…PARTLY CLOUDY. NORTH WIND NEAR 5 MPH.
TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON THEN CLEARING. HIGH IN THE LOWER 80S. NORTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.
TONIGHT…CLEAR…COOLER. LOW IN THE UPPER 40S. NORTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.
FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 70S. EAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.
FRIDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW IN THE UPPER 40S. SOUTHEAST WIND AROUND 5 MPH.
SATURDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE MID 70S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT.
SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY…CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. LOW AROUND 60. HIGH IN THE LOWER 70S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 50 PERCENT.
SUNDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. LOW IN THE MID 50S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT.
MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE LOWER 70S. LOW IN THE UPPER 50S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 40 PERCENT.
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state official says the 102-degree heat recorded this week in southern Iowa made it the hottest day this late in the year in six decades. State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says the 102-degree heat was recorded Monday at Donnellson and Keokuk. He says the last time a reading that high occurred this late in the year was Sept. 28, 1953, when 100-degree readings occurred across nearly half of the state.
He says that in all, high temperatures have reached 100 or more 109 times in 38 different Septembers. He says most of those winters were followed by less snow than usual, but one was among the coldest and snowiest winters on record. Bottom line? He says, “with hot September weather you always need to be prepared for anything in Iowa.”
Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 95, just three degrees shy of the record high for Sept. 10th.
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