Last spring, we saw wet weather throughout March, April and early May that delayed the start of planting season until closer to Memorial Day. But, Hoosier Ag Today Chief Meteorologist Ryan Martin (shown above) says the weather models he has seen don’t indicate that wet weather would delay planting for Spring 2023.
“The way things are looking to me right now, I don’t have a major fear about planting delays,” says Martin. “To me, it comes down to what kind of snow melt do we have, what kind of snow do we get to melt, how does the soil profile freeze up this year. Do we have a hard deep freeze that we’re greasy for a while or not? Other than that, I think we’re in a pretty decent starting point right now.”
Martin believes below-normal precipitation is likely for Indiana during the next three winter months, while drier weather is also likely into May.
“The model that I’ve developed in-house says a forecast pattern that is drier than normal – maybe 30-40-50 percent below normal precipitation for that January-February-March time frame. Then, we turn around and we get a pretty active month of precipitation for April before we dry things back out.”
“The pattern for spring planting and coming out of winter I think is going to be drier than normal – an extension of what we’re seeing right now,” says Martin.
He also says his weather models are showing above normal temperatures leading into spring.
“I think as we go through the winter, we’re going to see a fairly normal to slightly above normal temperature pattern,” says Martin. “Here nearby, it could promote a decent about of snow. But, once we get into spring, I’m expecting temperatures to be about three-to-five percent above normal. I think that’s going to get us into the field a little sooner. I think the risk of late frost this year is minimal – around 40 percent at best.”
Click BELOW to hear C.J. Miller chat with Hoosier Ag Today’s Chief Meteorologist Ryan Martin about his long-term weather outlook for Spring 2023.
