2018 Annual Climate Summary Now Available

Cool, Wet Conditions in the East, Warm and Dry in the West

2018 was a tale of extremes across the High Plains, as the region experienced both sides of the temperature and precipitation spectrums. In northern and eastern areas of the High Plains, it was cool and wet, which brought a variety of positive and negative impacts. For instance, this pattern was welcome in the Northern Plains where long-term drought conditions improved dramatically, but the constant wetness brought flooding and challenges to agriculture. In western areas of the High Plains, drought persisted throughout the year, causing a devastating fire season, low water supplies, recreation and tourism revenue loss, and damage to crops and pastures. Thankfully, winter came early this year in this part of the region, and mountain snowpack got off to a promising start. Winter conditions in 2018 were partially influenced by a weak La Niña, which contributed to the cold conditions in the Northern Plains, as well as the high snowpack in the Northern Rockies and the low snowpack in the Southern Rockies.

Despite unfavorable conditions for agriculture in the region, row crops did especially well. For instance, Nebraska and South Dakota had record-high corn and soybean yields. Although cold and wet conditions brought about a late start to the growing season, the warmth of May and June helped Growing Degree Days (GDDs) accumulate very quickly, allowing for rapid progress in crop growth. Corn matured early and was less impacted than soybeans by the unfavorable harvest conditions during the fall. Additionally, early crop maturation reduced the risk for damaging fall freezes. Soybean harvest was very slow in the High Plains; in fact, it was the slowest soybean harvest on record nationwide, a record that goes back to 1995. The winter wheat crop struggled in Kansas and Colorado during winter 2017-18 due to a number of factors, including the presence of drought conditions and the lack of snow cover during cold air outbreaks. As of the end of the year, this season’s crop was faring much better in Colorado, thanks to timely precipitation. However, approximately 65 percent of the winter wheat crop in Kansas was planted late due to wet conditions, and it was not faring well.

For more information on temperature, precipitation, and impacts from climate in 2018 in the High Plains region, please see the link to the full PDF of the summary: https://hprcc.unl.edu/climatesummaries.php