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Weekly Nebraska Soil Moisture Report - July 4, 2011
Author: Eric Hunt - University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Published: 2011-07-06 16:45:36
Updated: 2013-06-26 15:46:16
The High Plains Regional Climate Center is now featuring a weekly Nebraska Soil Moisture Index map. For the next month or two, the HPRCC will feature a weekly Nebraska soil moisture report and map on the front page of the website, before moving it to a permanent location on the AWDN Soil Moisture page. If you have any comments or questions about the SMI, please use the contact us page.
"The Soil Moisture Index (SMI) is an index applied to the volumetric water content at the depths of 10, 25, and 50 cm. It is averaged over those three depths and scaled such that 5.0 represents field capacity and -5.0 represents the wilting point. Measurements are made under grass covered, rain fed conditions and may not be representative of soil moisture conditions in fields with standard row crops." To learn more about the SMI, click here.
Nebraska Weekly Soil Moisture Report - July 4, 2011
Rainfall over the past week was most significant along and south of the Platte River in the eastern half of the state. Most other locations in the state received a half inch or less, with less than a tenth of an inch across most of northeast Nebraska. Most of the state also had a relatively short spell of heat and wind that yielded higher rates of soil moisture depletion but the duration of the heat and wind was not enough to cause significant loss of soil moisture. Several locations (including Lincoln) received enough precipitation over the weekend to offset the soil moisture loss from the heat and wind combination earlier in the week.
For the early part of July, most of Nebraska is in pretty decent shape with only nine stations reporting an SMI below 0.0. Areas worth watching for possible future drought effects are around McCook and then in the area around Elgin and Ord. The latest precipitation forecast map from the HPC is good news for drier areas of southwest Nebraska and most of the state should see some precipitation this week. Temperatures should be at seasonal levels across the state this week, so places that get an inch of rain should maintain the current status quo.