End of Autumn

Today is the last day of meteorological autumn.  Autumn is the transitional season between the three warmest months of the year, to the three coldest months of the year.  Autumn 2017 was near average for temperatures with the cold November helping with the trend toward average after warmer than average September and October.  Temperatures may… Read more End of Autumn

Remaining Dry

Although the lack of moisture this time of year can go unnoticed by many, November has been quite dry across most of North Dakota just like October was.  The one big exception was northeastern North Dakota where one snow event in particular will place this month very near average for moisture.  Winter average precipitation is… Read more Remaining Dry

Yield Declines

Estimated soybean averaged yield for North Dakota taken as a whole for the 2017 growing season is 35 bushels an acre, down nearly 7 bushels per acre for the record yield from 2016.   Corn estimated average yield for North Dakota is 134 bushels per acre down 24 bushels per acre for the record set in… Read more Yield Declines

Cold Start

Many of you may recall that November 2016 was a warm one.  It was one of the warmest Novembers on record.  Much of the region recorded very little snowfall with temperature 10-15 degrees above average.  I personally always consider winter to be from November 1 through March 31 in this area, meaning last year the… Read more Cold Start

Soil Freezing

The soil temperatures are getting close to the freezing point with the colder weather of the past couple of weeks.  In most locations any freezing of the soils has only been in the top couple of inches, but clearly the frozen soil season will be with us soon.  Because of the drier than average warm… Read more Soil Freezing

Cold Getting Colder

The weather looks dry and cold this week.  There will likely be an occasional period of flurries or very light snow but generally speaking the next several days should not produce much in the way of moisture, but the cold will be very noticeable.  Monday morning temperatures dropped below zero for the first time in… Read more Cold Getting Colder