When the rain arrives, it comes with refreshing, rain-cooled air.
What we don’t give much thought to is the bonus of the cooling effect of rain on soil temperatures. Wednesday, October 5, 2016 gave us a good example of how rain cools the soil.
Soil Moisture
A “GOOD” Rain
Pat turned to me and with excitement in his voice and declared, “That was a “GOOD” rain!” Pat raises cattle. He watches his cattle closely to make sure they have what they need to stay happy and healthy.
So what is a “good” rain? For ranchers, like Pat, it means a rain that is timely. The rain needs to fall often enough to keep the grass growing. No rain. No grass. That’s what we had in 2011.
Photo: Chris Peterson Continue reading
It May Be Dryer than You Think
Thankfully, here in August we’ve had a summer heat reprieve. While we’re a little cooler, Oklahoma’s plants are still pulling a lot of water out of the soil each day. And for many Oklahoma locations soils are on the dry side. That can put a strain on unirrigated summer crops as they head to maturity.
Adding Assurance – Dual Rain Gauges
When rainfall data counts, it’s a shock to go to the Oklahoma Mesonet and find ‘NA,’ ‘Not Available.’ Just like you, all of us at the Mesonet hate missing data too. That is why we are so committed, from our field techs to our website wizards, to collect and confirm all the data we can from the Oklahoma Mesonet system. The Mesonet team works continually to make sure that quality assured data keeps flowing from Mesonet’s 120 sites, every five minutes, every day.
(Part of the Oklahoma Mesonet Team at the Ron Elliott Mesonet Site Dedication – 09/11/15)
Best in Years!!! Soil Moisture April 2015
Oklahoma has been treated to above average rainfall this April. A Mesonet Rainfall Map for last two weeks of April, shows how that rain fell across Oklahoma from April 15th to April 29th. Cheyenne had the highest rainfall, 8.85 inches. The lowest rainfall location was Kenton with 1.10 inches of rain. Map numbers are rainfall amounts collected at Oklahoma Mesonet sites.
