Planting season is fast approaching, if not already starting in some areas.

State Climatologist Justin Glisan says that the varied weather conditions that the state has seen up to this point has changed how good the soil condition might be as farmers prepare to plant. He mentions that with the considerably good snowpack in January, the state faced the warmest February in 152 years of records, also being the second driest.

Glisan tells Raccoon Valley Radio that although the month was dry, the warm conditions melted the snowpack in a beneficial way.

“We saw a good rebound in soil moisture getting into February. Then we dried out on some windier days, extracting shallow moisture. Then we get into March. March was actually preliminarily above average by almost half an inch of precipitation. We had a good amount of rain, particularly in western Iowa, but statewide we saw anywhere from 150 percent to 300 percent of normal at most stations.”

Glisan explains that when you’re looking at soil moisture rebound, the slow spread out rains were exactly what the state needed to get good moisture penetration of the soil. He mentions that the increased moisture levels is not only god news in terms of farmers preparing for the planting season, but also because the state as a whole continues to suffer from at least moderate drought conditions.