Monthly Overview - June 2017

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Wet Conditions in the North

Wet conditions in Wisconsin and Michigan ranged up to 200% of normal (Figure 1).  Other areas with slightly above-normal conditions were recorded in northern Missouri and much of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.  A dry swath extended across Iowa and into Illinois, with values at less than 50% of normal.
 

Near-Normal Temperatures

June temperatures averaged close to normal across the Midwest (Figure 2). Nearly all of the region fell within two degrees of normal.  Warmer than normal conditions during the first half of the month were offset by cooler than normal readings later in the month. 
 

Severe Weather

Severe weather was reported across the Midwest with reports on all but five days, 6th-8th and 25th-26th. Two particularly busy periods were during the middle of the month and again in the last few days of June.  Tornadoes were reported on nine days and in seven states, with many reports in Wisconsin on the 14th and Iowa on the 28th.  Minnesota also had numerous tornado reports during June.
 

Crop Conditions

Corn (Figure 3) and soybean (Figure 4) crops in the Midwest, as reported by NASS on July 2nd, were rated as good or excellent for over half of the crop in all states except Indiana.  Fair conditions were reported for 10% to 35% and less than 20% were reported as poor or very poor in the various states in the region.
 

Drought Development

After a drought-free May in the Midwest, some areas of drought developed in June (Figure 5).  Areas in Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri had new drought according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.  However these new areas, as of the June 27th release of the drought monitor, amounted to less than 2% of the region.
 

Snow Season Ends

The vast majority of the Midwest had relatively sparse seasonal snow totals (Figure 6) for the snow year (July 2016 - June 2017).  Just a few small areas, including northwestern Minnesota and a swath from north central Iowa to northeast Wisconsin, were slightly above normal.  The southern half of the region had totals that failed to reach 50% of normal with totals even less, less than 10% of normal, along the southern extent of the Midwest.
 

-MST-
The Iowa Climatology Bureau also contributed to this report.