Midwest Overview - June 2011

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June Rains

June precipitation was two to three times normal from southeast Iowa to southeast Illinois and in northern lower Michigan (Figure 1). Totals were less than half of normal in southwest Missouri and along the Michigan-Ohio border. Over 750 daily precipitation records were set in June. Drought was scarce in the Midwest during June. Only a small area in northeast Minnesota was in Moderate Drought according to the June 21st US Drought Monitor (Figure 2) but even that small area reverted to just Abnormally Dry the following week.
 

Temperatures Ease from Hot Start

June began with very warm temperatures but cooled to slightly below normal by the last week of the month. June 30th saw heat advisories and warnings return as warmth built back into the region from the southwest. Averaged over the month, temperatures were slightly below normal in the northwest and above normal in the south. Departures were 1°F to 3°F below normal in Minnesota and 3°F to 5°F above normal in southern Missouri (Figure 3). Minimum temperatures were warmer, compared to normal (Figure 4), than maximum temperatures (Figure 5). Nearly 2000 daily temperature records were set in June with hundreds each of record high maximums (832), record low maximums (430), and record high minimums (692) but relatively few record low minimums (30).
 

Missouri River Breaches Multiple Levees

Heavy rains in the northern Great Plains pushed Missouri River levels well above flood stage by the beginning of the month (Figure 6). The high water is expected to remain high throughout the summer as extremely deep snow packs in the northern Rockies melt and run off. The continued high water will stress many levees not necessarily designed for such a prolonged flood (Figure 7). In southwest Iowa and northwest Missouri, several levees had already failed or been overtopped leading to evacuations of several towns and outlying rural areas from Hills County and Fremont County in Iowa to Atchison, Holt, Buchanan Counties in Missouri.
 

An Active Severe Weather Month

June was a busy month for severe weather. All four weeks of the month brought severe weather to each of the nine Midwest states (Figure 8). Hail, wind, and tornadoes struck somewhere in the Midwest on every June day except the 29th. On the 22nd, five tornadoes touched down in the Louisville, Kentucky area including one that hit Churchill Downs racetrack. Six barns were damaged but no people or horses were injured.
 

Crops Planted at a Rapid Pace

After a slow start to the planting season, planting progress made rapid gains in late May and early June. Farmers took advantage of big machinery to make quick work of planting when favorable conditions finally arrived. Both the corn and soybean planting were well behind normal in mid-May but several weeks of good planting weather permitted the farmers an opportunity to catch up.
 

-MST-