The Kansas Ag-Climate Update is a joint effort between our climate and extension specialists. Every month the update includes a brief summary of that month, agronomic impacts, relevant maps and graphs, 1-month temperature and precipitation outlooks, monthly extremes, and notable highlights.
June 2022: Heat wave in western areas under drought condition
The statewide average temperature in June was 74°, or 1.6oF above normal (Fig. 1). Western Kansas had the highest magnitudes above normal, which made drought conditions worse in this area. From a climate perspective, the three-month average temperature (April to June) was slightly warmer (1.4oF above the normal), ranking as 36th warmest of the past 128 years. A short-term heat-wave event was observed in southwestern Kansas, where cattle deaths were reported between June 11 and June 13. The weather conditions likely led to cattle respiration rates that were above the danger threshold (110 breaths per minute) during middays in this period.
Precipitation was relatively evenly distributed across the state, but averaged around 0.5” below normal which made drought conditions worse, particularly in the western part of the state.
Figure 1. Departures from normal temperature (°F) and precipitation (inches) for June 2022.
View the entire June 2022 Ag-Climate Update, including the accompanying maps and graphics (not shown in this short summary), at http://climate.k-state.edu/ag/updates/
Xiaomao Lin, State Climatologist