2023 Spring Farm Outlook

Page 8 2023 Logan County Spring Farm Outlook LINCOLN DAILY NEWS March 2023 the month were dry, but one significant rain event pushed the precipitation total above normal for the month. A record daily rainfall of 3.40 inches occurred on February 22nd, causing flooding across Lincoln and Logan County. Roads were covered, ditches and farm fields were flooded, and most likely many basements were affected as well. Normal liquid equivalent of precipitation for ALL of February is 1.92 inches, and that one storm system nearly doubled that. Needless to say, drought conditions did not return in February and will likely be staved off for a couple months down the road. One thing that helped the soil moisture to get replenished this winter was the fact that the frost depth was non-existent for a vast majority of the winter. That allowed any rainfall and melted snowfall to filtrate into the ground. We did have one big cold snap in late December which put the frost depth down to 6 inches in Lincoln at one point. However, that quickly melted off in January when high temperatures were in the 50s and low 60s the first three days of the month. Typically, any winter rains that occur hit a frost layer and run-off into the creeks and streams, bypassing the groundwater replenishment cycle. This year’s warm winter allowed nearly all rainfall events to seep into the ground and provide additional support against drought conditions persisting through the winter season. The current monthly and seasonal outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center show above normal precipitation trends all the way into the summer, so hopefully the Logan County drought concerns will be minimal for quite some time.