Tom Hoverstad SROC April Weather Record Miserable [Listen]
Tom Hoverstad Scientist at the Southern Research and Outreach Center at Waseca said we can't say on the radio the description of our April 2022 weather! What you can say would be COLD, CLOUDY, and WINDY. April was the fourth month in a row with temperatures colder than normal. However, April was much colder than normal, in fact 6.5 degrees colder than normal which is a lot for a monthly average. Solar radiation was 27 percent below normal and actually the cloudiest month in over 60 years!
Then there was the wind. With 30 days in April, 12 of them we saw winds of over 30 miles an hour. Then there were 3 days with winds over 40 miles an hour. While it seemed like it was a wet month the precipitation was the only weather that was close to normal. Precipitation totaled 3.75 inches only .5 inches above normal. So, April 2022 is being compared to a couple other miserable Aprils, 2018 and the prevented plant year of 2013.
April of 2018 was colder than 2022, but that year we had 26 inches of snow too. Later in the month the weather turned warmer, the snow melted and we got the crop planted in early to mid-May. April of 2013 was much wetter and then on May 2, 2013 our area received 8 to 18 inches of snow. Yes, that year the misery continued all the way through May. Then early June it was still very wet and many farmers were forced to file a prevented plant claim with their crop insurance.
Tom said our weather for the rest of out planting season this year will likely fall somewhere between the worst like in 2013 or not so bad in 2018. Click on the link and listen to Tom discuss our April 2022 weather!