Crop Insurance Today Second Quarter 2021 - 8

Figure 4
Summer 2020 (Jun-Aug): Statewide Precipitation and Temperature Ranks 1895-2020
Statewide Precipitation Ranks
June-August 2020
Period: 1895-2020
56
39
63
86
16
16
13
9
1
2
20
7
68
53
71
109
95
110
84
111 96
55
87
National Centers for
Environmental
Information
Thu Sept 4, 2020
120
16
14
53 63
29
96
117
98
74
126
125
54
69
13
102
100
105
33
100
102
114
123
59
27
12
17
9
11
115
120
124
98
77
103
90
116
95
104
118
116
117
124
120
115
119
112
83
54
87
124
93 92
86
88
88 85 95
121
National Centers for
Environmental
Information
Thu Sept 4, 2020
116
112
114
119
101
125
125
125
123
124
124
126
126
126
Statewide Average Temperature Ranks
June-August 2020
Period: 1895-2020
Record
Driest
(1)
Much
Below
Average
Source: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/temp-and-precip/us-maps
Below
Average
Near
Average
Above
Average
Much
Above
Average
Record
Wettest
(124)
Record
Coldest
(1)
Much
Below
Average
Below
Average
Near
Average
Above
Average
Much
Above
Average
Record
Warmest
(124)
ture ratings. Excessive rainfall in the middle of
the month also resulted in flooding and fieldwork
delays in the Midwest with areas of Illinois
and Michigan most affected. Despite the adverse
events in certain regions, the National Centers
for Environmental Information reported the
nation's May temperatures at only slightly above
the 20th century mean value while the average
precipitation was four percent above normal.
Summer 2020
Despite overall favorable conditions for major
crops in June, the summer would end up
being highlighted by several severe weather and
climate related events across the country. Beneficial
rainfall in June was abundant over a large
portion of the country including the Southeast,
Midwest, parts of the northern Plains and the
Northwest. In contrast, serious drought conditions
prevailed in the four corners region
into the southern half of the High Plains. In a
glimpse of what was to come, on June 7, tropical
storm Cristobal hit southeastern Louisiana,
dumping excess rainfall from the mouth of the
Mississippi River to the upper Great Lakes.
This would be the first of several summer storm
events (Figure 4).
Summer heat prevailed in July, bringing
benefits to crop development in some areas and
fueling persistent drought conditions in others.
8 SECONDQUARTER2021
Record warm and much above average temperatures
were experienced in the lower Great
Lakes states, the Northeast and along the Atlantic
coast. Only the northern High Plains and the
Northwest escaped the heat with below normal
temperatures for the month. Drought conditions
were evident from northeastern Nebraska
into central Iowa and the eastern most corn and
soybean production areas. At the same time,
approximately 63 percent of the 11-state Western
region was reported by the U.S. Drought
Monitor to be experiencing moderate to extreme
drought.
In stark contrast to drought conditions in the
West, tropical storm activity once again affected
areas of the Atlantic Coast and southern Texas.
On July 10, Tropical Storm Fay made landfall in
New Jersey, bringing heavy rains and high winds
across the area. On July 25, Hurricane Hanna
made landfall on Padre Island, Texas, and then
again just north of Port Mansfield, Texas. Flooding
and high winds caused damage to cotton
and citrus in the lower Rio Grande Valley.
Turbulent August weather rounded out an
active summer with a mix of disastrous extreme
weather and climate events. A wide area of the
country experienced significant damage most
notably attributable to wildfires in the West,
hurricanes in the South, and the derecho wind
event in the Midwest. The month began with
Hurricane Isaias making landfall in Ocean Isle
Beach, North Carolina, on August 4. Isaias continued
a north-northeast path spreading heavy
rains and damaging winds in the Atlantic Coastal
Plains up to New England. Meanwhile, prolonged
dry weather in the northern High Plains
and the Northwest benefited fieldwork and
small grain harvest. Drought continued in the
West as some of the Midwest and Northeast also
remained parched.
One of the most destructive weather events
of the summer occurred on August 10 when, in
a period of about 14 hours, a 770-mile path of
the Midwest was hit by winds with gusts of 60
to 140 mph (Figure 5). Such powerful storms
of this intensity, known as " derechos, " occur
roughly once-in-a-decade in this region. Other
notable derechos occurred in 1998 and 2011.
What was unique about this event, which resulted
in extended damage, was the long duration of
the high winds.
Storms initially developed in northern Nebraska
and southeast South Dakota early in
the morning, and quickly moved eastward into
Iowa gaining strength along the way. The damaging
winds struck initially near and around the
Des Moines metro area. As the storms intensified,
widespread wind damage was reported in
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/temp-and-precip/us-maps
Crop Insurance Today Second Quarter 2021

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