Endless summer—or is it spring?
This past weekend provided me with an opportunity to return to my college roots as I watched Kansas State University—my alma mater—play its season opener, Sept. 1, against South Dakota.
A warm day at Bill Snyder Family Stadium meant high humidity in Manhattan, Kansas. It was a scorcher during the day and K-State survived an unexpected scare and won a nail-biter, 27-24.
The big story from the weekend was a thunderstorm that poured in some places 9 inches of rain in the Manhattan area. This year has been one of the most unusual—virtually no moisture the first six months of year. In late June, Dodge City reported 6.42 inches of rain—the traditional end of the rain season. Over the past two months the rain gauge now stands at 17.87 inches—an increase of more than 11 inches in two months.
Sept. 2 and 3 also were cool days for the most part with intermittent rain in the Dodge City region. Those days felt more like Memorial Day rather than Labor Day. (I am sure that Memorial Day felt more like Labor Day, too).
Predicting the weather remains one of the most difficult tasks of any of the professions. Few could have predicted that 2018 would be the year in which weather could delay row crop harvests and planting wheat as it appears to be happening this September.
A friend of mine whose roots are deep in agriculture told me that one reason farmers are planting spring crops instead of focusing on sowing fall crops was the consistency of moisture in the growing season in the spring and summer. Another factor was snowfall in the winter, a favorite for wheat farmers, had diminished.
Mother Nature seems to have an “aha” moment for any of us who think we can prognosticate the weather. I have gained a great deal of appreciation for the weather professionals who do a wonderful job of keeping us advised on weather patterns. Hurricanes in the Gulf provide a change in the flow of moisture that does make it harder to predict and yet the old-timers always said even in the dry conditions of northwest Kansas, “all we need is one good soaker in August to make a good sorghum crop and give us enough water to get the wheat up before winter sets in.”
I think that still says it well.
It will never solve the debate on what causes climate change and provides an endless stream of fire for those who argue strongly on either side of the debate. The unexpected moisture we are experiencing will change the U.S. Drought Monitor when its map comes out in September. All sides should be thankful for the relief—even if it is for only a short time.
