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Statewide Soil Moisture Update
Author: Eric Hunt- High Plains Regional Climate Center
Published: 2015-06-08 15:28:46
Updated: 2015-06-15 18:33:30
Summary:
It was another wet week for most of the state, with most locations picking up over an inch. Many areas of south central and southeastern Nebraska picked up over 4 inches, with flash flooding an issue in some spots.
The biggest changes this week were noted in central Nebraska where most sites saw improvements in the SMI, particularly at Shelton which went from -1.6 last Monday to 5.1 today. Decent improvements were also noted at Red Cloud, Grand Island, Minden, and Kearney, though the improvements at Grand Island and Minden were confined to the top part of the soil profile; soils remain dry below the top foot at both locations.
Quick roundup by Crop Reporting District (more information can be found at http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/articles/index.php?id=593):
Northwest: Soils remain moist at all locations. Average SMI: 4.2
North Central: Soils remain moist at all locations. Average SMI: 3.9
Northeast: Remaining dry around Brunswick, past field capacity at Concord and West Point. Average SMI: 2.7
Central: Moderate dryness persists around Ord, sizable improvements toward the Platte River. Average SMI: 2.7
East Central: Another wet week and soils remain very moist. Average SMI: 4.0
Southwest: More improvement around McCook and quite moist overall. Average SMI: 4.2
South Central: Decent improvement at Red Cloud, some improvement at Holdrege and Minden, but deeper soils still short of moisture. Average SMI: 0.6
Southeast: A very wet week and soils are past field capacity at Nebraska City. Average SMI: 4.9
Average SMI by Level 3 Ecoregion:
Central Great Plains: 2.7
High Plains: 4.2
Northwestern Great Plains: 3.1
Sand Hills: 2.9
Western Corn Belt: 5.0
Disclaimer:
** The Soil Moisture Index (SMI) is based on the estimated field capacity and wilting point at three depths (10 cm, 25 cm, 50 cm) at Automated Weather Data Network (AWDN) sites under grass cover. The index may not necessarily be representative of conditions of a nearby field, particularly if differences in total precipitation over the previous week have been significant. **