Last week the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network, usually referenced as NDAWN, upgraded three stations in southwestern North Dakota. The Carson, Hettinger and Mott stations were transformed from tripod to towers. With this upgrade these stations now how all-season rain gauges, allowing for measurement of water in snow this winter. Plus, these sites now have… Read more New Cameras
Tag: soil
Soil Moisture Data
The dryness in many areas this year has likely heightened the awareness of soil data. NDAWN, the North Dakota agricultural weather network, started a soil moisture network back in 2015. The data was originally sought for flood monitoring, but there was always going to be the need for the data for dry years as well. … Read more Soil Moisture Data
Cool Soils
The cool weather this week had definitely kept the soil temperatures down. Next week with some warmer weather expected the soil temperatures should make a recovery. How high those soil temperatures will go will depend about the amount of sunshine, any potential additional precipitation and in turn, how moist the soil will be. The Red… Read more Cool Soils
Winter Dry Season
The below average precipitation in the past several months has raised many eyebrows. I always remind individuals that from November through March we only average the same moisture as we do in the month of June. Winter is a dry period for us. Recent wetter winters have tended to warp our perceptions of winter precipitation and snow amounts. We… Read more Winter Dry Season
Soil Temperature Errors
This is the time of year that the soil temperature data from the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network, usually referenced as NDAWN, is widely used. NDAWN has 161 sites, meaning 161 different ways that rodents, the wind and thaw/freeze cycles try to destroy the soil temperature sensors at these stations. In turn, you may find… Read more Soil Temperature Errors
Warming Soil
Ground temperatures have warmed up with the recent mild temperatures, but considering we are heading toward cooler air and perhaps even well below average temperatures for a time next week, the release of the frost in the ground in most areas is still quite a ways into the future. As we are all aware of,… Read more Warming Soil
Drifting Soil
The strong wind on Sunday caused extensive soil erosion. The problem was the worst in northeastern North Dakota into northwestern Minnesota where it has been the driest in the past few weeks. Many of the snow events in March and April tended to drop little or no snowfall into that part of the region. In… Read more Drifting Soil
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
Soil Water
Western North Dakota, especially the area either west or south of the Missouri River is definitely an exception, but most of eastern North Dakota the subsoil moisture is still at or above average. Yes, there are going to be exceptions, but once you get down to around 8 inches or lower there is moisture, it… Read more Soil Water
Still Wet
With March to this point below average, the question I get frequently is what type of temperatures do you expect in April. For several months now I have projected March and April to finish below average for temperatures and looking forward, I think there will be more below average days than above average days for… Read more Still Wet