Released: March 13, 2006

2006 Starts Off As Fourth Driest on Record in Kansas

MANHATTAN, Kan. – It’s no surprise to anyone who pays attention to these things, but Kansas is dry and the data is in to prove it.

The first two months of 2006 combined were the fourth driest on record in Kansas, which is having an impact on everything from the wheat crop to home landscaping, according to Kansas State University scientists.

“Out of the more than 200 (weather) reporting stations we have around the state, only a handful had any measurable precipitation,” said Mary Knapp, climatologist for the State of Kansas. “Three of the nine divisions are having their driest start since 1895. All of them are in the central part of the state.”

Knapp, who directs the state’s Weather Data Library on the K-State campus, said the statewide average for precipitation in the January-February period this year was .41 inch.

That compares with the driest start to any year which was recorded in January-February, 1970 when the average precipitation in Kansas totaled .29 inch. The second driest was in Jan.-Feb. 1923 at .32 inch and the third was in 1917 when Jan.-Feb. precipitation averaged .36 inch across the state.

Precipitation in some parts of the state during March will help those areas that got it, Knapp said, but moisture levels are still behind average in those areas.

Temperatures during the January-February, 2006 period were above normal, but not as much as some might think, Knapp said. Statewide, the average of daytime and nighttime temperatures during that period was .4 degrees F above normal.

“That’s surprising to a lot of people, but amid the very warm days, we did have a pretty cool spell in February, which pulled the average down some,” Knapp said.

The warmest average recorded this year in the Jan.-Feb period was Pittsburg, which was 8.5 degrees above normal. In contrast, the coolest weather was recorded in Dresden, where the average temperature for the two-month period was 3.5 degrees above normal.

The dry, relatively mild weather seems to favor greenbug reproduction and does not favor the state’s wheat crop, said K-State Research and Extension entomologist Jeff Whitworth. So, as the wheat breaks its winter dormancy, but lacks moisture for growth, the greenbug populations are increasing, which can add additional stress to the struggling plants.

Some of the state’s winter wheat crop broke dormancy early because of the mild weather, which could pose a problem for the health of the crop this spring.

Plants growing at this time of year use valuable soil moisture, said Jim Shroyer, state agronomy leader with K-State Research and Extension. Where topsoil is dry, this puts added stress on wheat plants. Even where topsoil moisture is adequate, it would be better used later in the growing season.

In addition, Shroyer explained, plants will have lost some of their winter-hardiness. This will not be a problem if the weather never turns extremely cold again this winter or if temperatures cool down gradually, so the plants can regain some of their winter-hardiness. If the wheat is green and growing, however, and temperatures suddenly go from unusually warm to extremely cold, either winterkill or spring freeze injury could occur.

In a March 6 crop report, the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service rated the state’s winter wheat crop condition as 7 percent very poor, 20 percent poor, 46 percent fair, 24 percent good, and 3 percent excellent.

The KASS report also put topsoil moisture at 50 percent very short, 45 percent short, and 5 percent adequate.

K-State Extension horticulturist Ward Upham said this winter’s dry conditions do not bode well for trees and shrubs planted in the past year, in particular. The second most vulnerable group is evergreens. He suggests that property owners give trees and shrubs a good soaking.

"Soil moisture that is root-system deep will help almost any ornamental planting do a better job of getting through winter," Upham said.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Mary Lou Peter-Blecha
mlpeter@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News