Irrigation farmers did not have to apply much water this year. The unusual weather created winners and losers, Guinan said. We'll go into the next crop year with plentiful moisture reserves in the soil and in ponds and lakes." "By the fall, Missouri soils normally need replenishment with rains. The soil moisture profile is full in most areas. "The four-month period from July to October 2009 was the coolest on record." Last year was the coolest year since 1996. "I just discovered this in the weather records," Guinan said. Rainfall in both years was accompanied by lower temperatures. However, heavy snows in December stopped the late harvest in northwest Missouri, so some crops are still in the field. "November warmed up and dried to allow harvest of most of the crop. "Exceptional rainfall in October, one of our drier months in Missouri, stopped harvest this year," he said. "Missouri is a big state, more than 400 miles from northwest to southeast, and we usually have a drought somewhere every year."Īn unusual feature of this weather pattern was persistent above-normal rainfall from month to month.įarm crops responded with two years of record-setting yields, Guinan said, but rain set back planting in both years and delayed harvest this year. "I've been here 20 years, and this was the first two consecutive years with no drought alerts," Guinan said. Missouri's average rainfall is 41 inches per year. Guinan said in 115 years of weather records, the only time when back-to-back years were almost as wet was in 19, when 102 inches of precipitation fell. So far this year, 49 inches has fallen," said Guinan, who tracks weather for the MU Commercial Agriculture Program. "Last year was the wettest year on record with more than 57 inches of precipitation. The University of Missouri Extension climatologist said that by mid-December, average precipitation topped 106 inches for 20, with more snow is in the forecast. "Unprecedented wetness," said Pat Guinan in a two-word summary of the last two years of Missouri weather. With 106 inches, more possible Duane Dailey, MU Cooperative Media Group Missouri sets two-year precipitation record
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