September 20, 2013

Many Nebraska corn and soybean fields were planted later than normal due to prolonged wet conditions last spring. With temperatures cooling and harvest quickly approaching, I wanted to take a look at fall freeze dates across Nebraska -- the earliest, latest, and average.

The maps show the earliest fall freeze, median fall freeze, and latest fall freeze that occurred in the last 30 years using freeze statistics from 139 stations across Nebraska. Data was obtained from the High Plains Regional Climate Center.

Note: The map shows a few spots that do not match the general trend over the region. This is because data from those weather stations report temperatures from immediate surroundings and have been influenced by the microclimate around those weather stations. These frost maps can be used to assess both worst case and best case scenarios when making local harvesting decisions.

Tapan Pathak
Extension Educator - Climate Variability

Figure 1. Periods of earliest frosts in the last 30 years, based on data from the High Plains Regional Climate Center.

Figure 2. Periods of median frost dates in the last 30 years, based on data from the High Plains Regional Climate Center. (Half of the frosts occurred before the median point and half the frosts occurred after the median point.)

Figure 3. Periods of latest frosts in the last 30 years, based on data from the High Plains Regional Climate Center.