Timely rains, milder temperatures provide welcome relief

By TIM UNRUH

Salina Journal

Another morning downpour greeted folks early Monday as they scurried off to work.

The brief, heavy shower -- 0.69 of an inch at Salina Municipal Airport and 0.44 of an inch at the Journal -- settled the dust, gave plants a drink and provided fresh morning air.

Showers, from mere sprinkles to enough to register in rain gauges, have been common in parts of north-central Kansas over the past few weeks. The Journal rain gauge has received measurable rain on 12 days since July 1, mostly in the mornings.

As he was checking crops with a Saline County farmer Friday, Tom Maxwell, agricultural agent with the Central Kansas Extension District, noticed water standing in ditches, and he was tracking mud in the field.

"It was hard to believe that it was the 17th of July," he said. "This is kind of atypical for north-central Kansas."

Almost as the bulk of this year's wheat crop was safely stored away, rain and mild temperatures replaced scorching heat and dry, dusty conditions.

"The row crops have been well-watered, and the rains came at the right time for the wheat harvest, too," said Steve Clanton, who farms in the Minneapolis area. His crops received about 0.40 of an inch; 0.25 of an inch fell in Minneapolis.

"Things are growing good," Clanton said. "We've been a little too cool for the milo. Milo likes it above 90 degrees."

Better than average

July has been better than average, said Chip Miller, Central Kansas Extension District horticulturist, without so many "three-digit temperatures, lower humidity and lots of wind."

Cooler conditions with some moisture means plants flourish.

"It's been great for gardeners. They can actually get out there and enjoy working in their yards," he said.

That quality time has been necessary, Miller said, because "weeds have been really great with this rain."

There have been downsides, with an increase of fungus diseases caused by high humidity and an interruption in the progress of produce, such as tomatoes and peppers.

"They didn't like the three-digit temperatures that we had earlier. I think they're just confused," Miller said. When it's cold, then hot, then cold again, pollination and ripening can stall."

"Sometimes (tomatoes) will sit on the vine and not change color. That's often due to weird temperatures, especially excessively hot ones," he said. "But I'll take it. Anything beats a drought."

The crops are fine for now, farmer Clanton said.

"I care what happens the rest of the year. If you get an inch of rain in August, you're in great shape," he said.

We're actually behind

While it may seem this has been a wet summer, the Salina area has been in a moisture deficit, said Mary Knapp, of Manhattan, state climatologist.

Through noon Monday, Salina was 1.26 inches behind on rainfall this month.

"If you get another round of rain (Monday night), you will probably be back up to what you should be," Knapp said. "One of the things to consider is it's not just the total but the distribution."

Some years may bring more rain, but they're not as beneficial, such as those heavy rains that fill up farm ponds but don't soak into soil.

This summer has been different.

"Every time you need it and the crop's getting stressed, boom, you get another three-quarters of an inch," Knapp said. "You really haven't had any excessively wet months."

Maxwell notes that the rains have been spotty.

"You hate to talk for everybody. There are pockets out there that have missed out on some of these rains," he said.

But generally, the crops look lush as soybeans prepare to make their seed pods and milo heads out.

"We're building the factory. The dryland corn is filling now," Maxwell said. "It'll be August rains that'll make these crops."

Running a little cooler

It has been as hot at 107 degrees this month (July 14), but the temperature is running two-tenths of a degree cooler than the longtime average, allowing the moisture to linger, Knapp said. Sunday's high was 88 and the low was 61, which was the coolest it's been in July.

"The next couple days are running similar to what we had (Sunday)," she said.

Today's high is predicted to be in the low 80s. Look for "near-perfect" conditions Wednesday; mostly sunny, highs near 86 and calm winds. Highs will climb back into the 90s by the weekend, Knapp said, with another round of rain on the way.

Water use unchanged

The timeliness of rains is not yet reflected in Salina's water use, according to Martha Tasker, Salina's utilities director.

"We're not seeing great big differences," she said.

Compared to 2008, she said, 2009 is tracking about the same. Salina used 7.6 million to 7.7 million gallons of water a day during June 2008, which "was a pretty good year for rain," she said. In June of this year, an average of 7.5 million gallons were used each day.

The average daily usage is 5.58 million gallons per day so far this year. The average usage for all of 2008 was 5.81 million gallons a day, Tasker said. She expects the average to be more similar after the heavy use months -- July through September -- are factored into 2009.

"We're tracking about the same," she said.

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

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