Cold winter days are returning! However, it is not always the temperature that gives the air that nip. The “feels like” temperature is usually influenced by the wind as well. We call this the wind chill. Learn about the wind chill analysis tool available from Kansas Mesonet.
When the weather turns bitter cold or very hot, don't forget about the Kansas Mesont Cattle Comfort Tool. This tool illustrates the impacts of both extreme heat and extreme cold. Read more about this tool in this article.
Cooler weather has brought the return of the Mesonet Freeze Monitor. This is a very useful tool! It displays the coldest temperatures during the previous 24 hours at all Mesonet stations and tracks the duration of the cold temperatures. Check it out!
The wind always seems to blow in Kansas and in winter, this wind can make the cold temperatures feel colder. Monitor the wind chill in your area with this tool from the Kansas Mesonet.
A blast of arctic air will settle on Kansas in early February. These bitter cold temperatures can result in negative impacts on cattle, especially calves. Monitor conditions using the Cattle Comfort Tool from the Kansas Mesonet.
The Mesonet Freeze Monitor tool has been updated with new features to help answer some common questions associated with the record-breaking cold temperatures across Kansas this week. Learn about the features in this article from the Kansas Mesonet team.
Winter wheat in Kansas is beginning to break dormancy. The Kansas Mesonet has introduced a new tool to help track the wheat crop development. Learn how to access this new resource and how to best use it's many features.
The Kansas Mesonet is always working to expand its "toolbox" for Kansas farmers and other agricultural professionals. They have released a new feature that tracks the number of days since a rainfall event. This information will prove useful for monitoring the activation of chemicals, assessing crop performance, and more.
Monitoring summer heat stress is important to ensure healthy livestock. Don't forget about the Animal Comfort Tool, a very useful tool from the Kansas Mesonet. Learn how to find and use this resource in this article.
The first fall freeze for 2021 occurred today, October 14, in portions of northwest Kansas. The Freeze Monitor Tool from the Kansas Mesonet is back and available for free. New tracking features have been added for this fall. Check out this useful resource available online.
Winter wheat is beginning to break dormancy, and the Kansas Mesonet has introduced a new tool to help track crop development. The Wheat First Hollow Stem online tool can be accessed from the Kansas Mesonet website. This article offers guidance on how to best use this free resource.
Summer brings the heat, often amplified by higher humidity. Warmer-than-normal temperatures, especially at night, can cause heat stress to develop rapidly in livestock. The Kansas Mesonet has an Animal Comfort Tool that can help monitor conditions and aid farmers in making the best management decisions.
The morning of October 8 saw the first fall freeze in the state occurring in northeast Kansas. Now that cooler temperatures are starting to arrive, don't forget about the Kansas Mesonet's Freeze Monitor tool. The Freeze Monitor is a handy tool to check the conditions in your area. This article describes all the features and how to get the most of this free online resource.
Winter wheat is beginning to break dormancy, and the Kansas Mesonet has a tool to help track crop development. This tool provides the propability of first hollow stem occurrence for wheat varieties in Kansas. This is important for dual-purpose wheat growers because it is the optimal time for grazing termination to maximize forage yield while minimizing grain yield losses.
The Kansas Mesonet strives to provide tools that improve field decisions and hopefully extend water resources for producers. The latest upgrade involves a tool for estimating evapotranspiration. This is an important output variable for making irrigation decisions, particularly during drought. Don't miss out on learning about this free resource!
It has been a year since a major cattle loss event occurred in southwest Kansas. Producers were caught off guard by a sudden transition from cool/wet to hot conditions. As a result, the Kansas Mesonet has collaborated with producers and researchers to provide a forecast product that will predict the potential for animal loss.
Last week, we examined the 2023 growing season compared to 2022 regarding temperature and precipitation differences. This article takes a closer look at the growing season to date and considers additional variables such as evapotranspiration (ET) and growing degree days.
Less than a month after a late July heat wave brought the hottest temperatures in years to parts of Kansas, another heat wave arrived on Saturday, August 19. This event brought even hotter temperatures to Kansas. This article looks at temperatures recorded at Mesonet stations across the state.
In the last five weeks, Kansas has endured two stretches of extreme heat. The first occurred during the last 10 days of July. The second heat wave was even hotter than the first and began with a vengeance on August 19. This article looks back on this historic heat wave that affected the entire state of Kansas.
With freezing temperatures in the forecast for much of northwest and north central Kansas, the Kansas Mesonet’s Freeze Monitor is now available for the 2023 fall frost/freeze season. The Freeze Monitor is a handy tool to check conditions in your area. Have freezing conditions been recorded? How does it compare to the average? How many hours below freezing was your area?
Mesonet climate freezing temperatures freeze monitor first freeze
On October 14, an infrequent astronomical event took place: a partial solar eclipse. The moon’s orbit passed between Earth and the sun, temporarily blocking Kansas’ view of the entire solar disc for about 3 hours. Some Kansas Mesonet sites captured changes to meteorological variables during the eclipse. Learn more in this article.
The winter of 2023-2024 has been mild thus far, but much colder conditions are in the forecast. These much colder conditions will likely negatively impact cattle, particularly calves. The Kansas Mesonet's Animal Comfort Tool can aid in decision management with the evaluation of current conditions and the seven-day forecast. Both are critical as the recent warmer-than-normal temperatures have not allowed cattle to adjust to colder conditions.
Mesonet livestock Cattle Comfort Tool cold temperatures extreme weather
The forecast for the coming week consists of bitter cold air, the coldest of the winter season thus far. The “feels like” temperature is also usually influenced by the wind. This article discusses how wind chill values are estimated and why monitoring during the winter is important. The Kansas Mesonet offers a wind chill analysis tool. Check it out.
Summer brings heat, often amplified by humidity. When heat stress develops with hot, sunny, and humid conditions, increased proactive steps are required to avoid potential illness in livestock. The Kansas Mesonet has an Animal Comfort Tool that tracks current heat stress values with real-time data and looks ahead at the 7-day forecast.
cattle Mesonet Cattle Comfort Tool heat stress high humidity
Only a few locations, mostly in far northwest Kansas, have reached the freezing mark this fall. Despite very warm temperatures expected through the weekend, cooler weather will briefly return early next week. This is a great time to visit the Kansas Mesonet's Freeze Monitor. This article explains the many uses of this online tool.