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Weekly Nebraska Soil Moisture Report - September 19, 2011
Author: Eric Hunt - University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Published: 2011-09-20 15:01:58
Updated: 2013-06-26 15:42:50
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 - September 19, 2011
Most places received some rainfall last week but only portions of west central and north central Nebraska received enough rain to significantly moisten the soil profile. There are only ten sites in the state with an SMI above 0.0 and only one has an SMI above 2.0 (Arapahoe Prairie). The statewide median is -1.9, which is the lowest it has been all growing season. Rainfall chances are slim to none statewide over the next week so improvement is not likely. The good news in the coming week is that seasonal temperatures should keep losses to evapotranspiration from being significant.