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Weekly Nebraska Soil Moisture Report - August 1, 2011
Author: Eric Hunt - University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Published: 2011-08-03 16:12:24
Updated: 2013-06-26 15:44:06
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 - August 1, 2011
Locations fortunate enough to receive significant rainfall in the past 10 days, which includes most of east central Nebraska, are still in relatively good shape. However, another week of above average temperatures and scant rainfall has left many locations in the state with a relatively dry soil profile. The good news is that relief is in on the way for most of the state in the form of rain and cooler temperatures during the second half of the week (see HPC map). For a lot of locations, a solid inch would bring the soil profile out of stress or come close to doing so.