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By GORDON D. FIEDLER JR.

Salina Journal

Heat-weary Salinans were ready for July to end, hoping August would provide some relief, never mind that August typically is the hottest summer month.

July booked 20 days of temperatures at or higher than 100, including a reading of 113 on the 27th, breaking the previous record of 111 degrees set in 1936.

But when August opened with another record-breaker, it appeared that July's heat brought in reinforcements to continue the fiery siege.

July finished its torment with a 106-degree reading. On Aug. 1, the temperature shot to 110, breaking an 1897 record of 109. The next day wasn't much better. The high that day tied a record of 109 set in 1918.

With 29 days to go, these were not hopeful signs, as it was on Aug. 13, 1936, when Salinans withered in 118 degrees.

But this August displayed typical Kansas fickleness.

For the next 15 days, the highs stayed below -- on two days way below -- 100. The high temperature Aug. 10 and 12 only reached 84. From there, the mercury broke 100 seven more times, including a 106 reading on Aug. 23 and 105 on Aug. 31.

Agriculturally speaking, August's relative tameness came too late for many corn and soybean fields.

"July was almost record setting," said Kansas State University Extension agent Tom Maxwell. "When it's 90 to 95 on a sustained basis, (soybeans) start aborting flowers and pods both."

Rains on Aug. 4 and 5 totaling almost 2 inches checked the carnage, but then hot, dry days returned.

"The bean prospects aren't looking real good," Maxwell said.

Corn seemed to care even less for the heat by refusing to pollinate.

"When it gets in the upper 90s to 100, it kills the male pollen cells," he said.

Even those grain crops that received adequate water still succumbed.

"Some of our irrigated soybean and corn both suffered because of the heat even though they had ample moisture," he said.

Native grass also was stressed, Maxwell said, with yields of prairie hay at half to two-thirds of normal in some places in Saline County.

"Some cattlemen may be scrambling for feed," he said.

August bowed out by giving up 2.77 inches of rain, a half-inch less than normal. So far for the year, Salina has received 13.76 inches, almost 9 inches shy of the annual average through August. Historically, August ends with a total of 22.33 inches for the year.

This does not bode well for sowing the upcoming wheat crop.

Maxwell said the soil needs more moisture to get the wheat off to a proper start.

Moisture wasn't a problem in 1977, when Salina received a mini-monsoon of 5.14 inches on Aug. 31.

While August broke a high temperature record and tied another, the month never came close to setting a new low. In fact, the lowest temperature last month couldn't even reach the warmest low temperature of 56 degrees set on Aug. 17 in 1958. The best August could do to cool things off was to deliver a 58-degree reading on Aug. 26.

The record low for the month is 42, set twice, on Aug. 28, 1916, and on Aug. 30, 1915.

-- Gordon D. Fiedler Jr. can be reached at 822-1407 or by e-mail at gfiedler@salina.com.

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