Midwest Weekly Highlights - June 17-23, 2014

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Above Normal Temperatures Across Majority of Region

The third week of June brought widespread above average temperatures to the Midwest, with the exception of areas in northern Minnesota and Michigan which were below normal (Figure 1). The greatest departures from normal were in southern Indiana and northern Kentucky, where temperatures were +5°F to +7°F above normal. There were multiple days throughout the week where 85°F to 90°F temperatures extended far north into the region, mainly at the beginning of the week (Figure 2). Maximum temperatures were a mix of above, near, and below normal across the region (Figure 3), while overnight lows (minimum temperature) were above normal across the region (Figure 4).
 

Precipitation Above Normal Except for North and South

Significant precipitation measuring at least 5" (upwards of 8") fell across a majority of northern Iowa and a small portion of southern Minnesota throughout the third week of June (Figure 5). These totals were anywhere from 400% to 750% of normal for this time of year (Figure 6). With the exception of southern and northern portions of the region, other areas in the Midwest also experienced above normal precipitation. Areas in the south (southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky) only received 5% to 25% of normal precipitation. Total precipitation in this region measured 0.01" to 0.25" for the week.
 

Severe Weather

Severe weather was reported in all nine Midwest states and on every day of the week (Figure 7). A majority of the reports were high wind reports, with large hail and tornado reports also in the mix. Many of the weeks' reports occurred on June 18th across eastern portions of the region. On the 18th, the highest wind reports were 81 mph in Adrian, MI (Lenawee County) and 77 mph in Aurora, IL (Kendall County).

There were tornadoes reported on June 17th in northwest Iowa and northeast Michigan, on June 18th in southern Minnesota and southern Wisconsin, on June 19th in southern Minnesota, northern Iowa, and central Indiana, and on June 23rd in northeast Ohio and southern Illinois. The strongest tornado appears to be the report in northeast Ohio (Medina County) on June 23rd, where it was reported that at least ten homes were significantly damaged and are uninhabitable.

Growing Season Update

The majority of corn and soybean crops across the Midwest are reported as in "Good" or "Excellent" condition, similar to last week (Figure 8) (Figure 9). In fact, the percentage corn reported in "Excellent" condition increased in all nine states over the last week. Even though the majority of crops are reported in good condition as of right now, crops in some parts of Iowa have reportedly experienced significant damage from the weather that occurred this past week. In his weekly conference, Governor Terry Branstad reported that there is considerable hail damage in southwest Iowa in addition to the flood damage in northwest Iowa.

-MW-
Extension Climatologist for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and the Midwestern Regional Climate Center