Clinton Herald, IA
07-06-06
Good news, bad news for crops
By Mary Lou Hinerichsen
DEWITT — The good news is, this year’s rainfall is far better than last year’s.
The bad news is, it’s still below normal.
According to Jim Blaess of Camanche,
the Clinton area weather observer for the U.S. government, total rain for the first
six months of this year was 15.56 inches, compared to 10.67 inches last
year.
But that still is below the normal rainfall of 16.32 inches for the six
months.
While showers were frequent in June, “they were just a few hundreds of
an inch here and a few hundreds there,” Blaess said. They only totaled 2.3
inches, nearly two inches short of the normal accumulation of 4.25 inches Only
one 90-degree day in June resulted in an average mean temperature of 69.8
degrees, close to the 70.7 degrees that result from four days of 90 degrees or
more in a normal June.
Last year there were nine days of 90 degrees or higher
in June.
Blaess also records severe weather warnings in the area.
April was
the stormiest month so far, he said, with two warnings, while June had none. He
did not tally the number of times severe weather watches were broadcast.
A
“warning” means a tornado or other severe storm is happening somewhere in the
area.
A “watch” means conditions are favorable for a severe storm, he
explained.
“We were lucky and missed out on most of the bad stuff,” he
added.
While Blaess records the Clinton County weather while it’s happening,
Ellwyn Taylor, Iowa State University climatologist, watches the temperature
in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean for clues to the future.
His lingo is “La Niña”
(unusually cold ocean temperatures) and “El Niño” (unusually warm ocean
temperatures).
The El Niño that seemed to be building out in the ocean in
February and March, suggesting a hot and dry summer for Iowa, has now moved
back toward a neutral temperature with a slight movement toward La Niña, he
said.
“It’s moving toward La Niña, which makes moisture more likely, but we
certainly don’t have it yet,” Taylor said.
“The scientists who work with this say
there is a 70 percent chance of moving to La Niña by August. The bad news is,
our weather lags about 30 days behind the event.
“We’re starting to see a little
rain around the area now, and that’s about 30 days after the El Niño started
going away, but the La Niña effects just aren’t here yet.”