Midwest Weekly Highlights - October 8-14, 2012

---

Precipitation Amounts Varied

The second week of October brought significant rainfall to the region, with the exception of the northwest and southeast portions of the Midwest (Figure 1). Much of the precipitation received throughout the Midwest was the result of a system that moved through on October 13th (Figure 2). The highest precipitation amounts were in southwest Missouri, where 3" to 4" fell throughout the week. A large band of precipitation of at least 1" stretched from southwest Missouri up through northern Michigan, giving precipitation totals that ranged from 200% to 400% above normal (Figure 3). Other high precipitation amounts of 2" or greater were found in northeast Missouri, west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, eastern Wisconsin, and western Michigan. Just over 260 daily precipitation records were set, with several occurring as a result of the system that moved through on the 13th.

Despite the abundant precipitation in the regions discussed above, locations in the northwest and southeast Midwest received much less precipitation. In fact, portions of western Minnesota and the Ohio River Valley did not report any measurable precipitation throughout the week.

Several stations in the northern Midwest reported snowfall, which mainly fell on October 10th and 11th (Figure 4). The highest snowfall totals of over 8" were reported in northwestern Michigan. There were a handful of daily snowfall records set during the week and even one monthly snowfall record for October, which occurred in Hale Loud Dam, Michigan (Iosco County) when 9.9" was reported on the 12th.
 

Below Normal Temperatures

Average temperatures were significantly below normal across the entire Midwest region during the second week of October (Figure 5). The largest temperature departures were 9°F to 10°F below normal in northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and portions of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. As a result of the unseasonably cold temperatures, several daily temperature records were set, most of which were record lows. In addition, several stations reported their first 32°F (Figure 6) freeze and 28°F freeze (Figure 7) of the cold season.
 

Harvest Progress

Several dry and cool days through the week resulted in all nine Midwest states making progress on the harvesting of corn and soybeans. All nine states are ahead of the 5-year average for harvesting corn while every state but three (Indiana, Missouri and Ohio) are ahead for harvesting soybeans. Missouri, Kentucky, and Minnesota are furthest along for corn, with 95%, 91%, and 90% of the crop harvested, respectively. Soybean harvesting is almost complete in Minnesota (99%) and Iowa (93%).

-MW-