Growing Season Wet and Variable

April through September 2000 was the second consecutive wet growing season in most of North Dakota, although it was marked with large month-to-month variation and dry areas in the far west and some central and southern areas, according to a report by John Enz, agricultural climatologist, and Barbara Mahoney, research specialist, from the North Dakota State University soil science department.

A warm, dry winter ended with an early spring season, although early spring planting was delayed by a major April snowstorm. Sparse April and May rainfall in the east produced some of the driest topsoil conditions since 1991. For the first time since 1993 major storms missed the Devils Lake watershed and lake levels declined.

Then the rains came. A major storm moved across the state June 12 to 14, producing heavy rains from southwestern North Dakota to the Minnesota line. The Gilby-Manvel area in northeastern North Dakota received unofficial rainfall amounts of 12 to 20 inches with major flooding and damage. About a week later 7 to 8 inches of rain fell in eight hours over eastern Cass County and adjacent Clay County in Minnesota, causing crop damage and unprecedented property damage.

Monthly rainfall totals for June were only 1 to 1.5 inches in the extreme west and southwest, less than 40 percent of normal, but most of the south received 50 to 80 percent of normal rainfall. The remainder of the state was much above normal with amounts in the northwest and central regions ranging from 150 to 230 percent of normal, and some eastern locations up to 400 percent of normal. The heavy storm in the Gilby-Manvel area produced monthly totals that may have ranged from 400 to 800 percent of normal, but unfortunately there were no official gauges in the area, Enz says.

Wet weather continued into July with widespread reports of crop disease. Wet conditions in August in the north and northeast resulted in significant grain crop quality losses from sprout damage. August rainfall divided along a northwest to southeast line. The northeast half of the state was wet, but extreme southwestern North Dakota recorded less than an inch. Early September continued wet in the north, but drying weather hastened harvest in most areas. An early October snowfall delayed harvest activities in the north central region.

Growing season totals are usually misleading, and this year was no exceptions, Enz says. "For example, dry conditions in April, May and July across the northeast and east caused severe water stress for high value crops. However, because these regions were very wet in June and August their growing season totals were above normal."

Heavy rain fell in central North Dakota in all months of the growing season, but in many regions heavy rain on just a few days accounted for most of the water that caused severe flooding and wet soils for several weeks.

Looking ahead, says Enz, stored soil water should be adequate in all but the driest regions.

In recent years various El Nino and La Nina events have become major national weather news. Enz says a new name has now entered the weather vocabulary, "La Nada," which indicates neither El Nino nor La Nina.

"This condition is said to favor a normal winter in the northern Great Plains," Enz says. "If true, a colder winter than we have experienced for several years would be expected."

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Source: John Enz, (701) 231-8576
Editor: Gary Moran, (701) 231-7865

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