Ag Weather Forum
Soil Freezing Depth Will Be Watched With February Cold Spell
Mid-February brings a strong cold wave to much of the contiguous United States east of the Rockies. Bitter cold air, strong winds and the threat of snow and freezing precipitation are all featured.
This harsh pattern is, of course, a safety and health hazard to people and livestock. It can also affect soil conditions, fieldwork schedules, and overwintering pest populations for the spring season. And in terms of soil freeze depth, the level is at its deepest point in several years.
For example, a look at the early-February soil frost depth in Minnesota shows soil frost depth in the range of 3 to 5 feet (36 to 60 inches). That level is the deepest level of frost so far in the 2020s.
"We are seeing ground frost a little deeper than in recent years (the last time it was this deep was in 2019)," Minnesota Department of Natural Resources climatologist Pete Boulay told DTN in an email. "The largest issue we have been seeing this winter is the lack of snow cover allowing the cold to penetrate."
Boulay would like to see several inches of snow from weather systems set to move across the Midwest during the next couple weeks. Such an amount would help to keep frost depth from going any deeper. "The old rule of thumb is that 4 inches of snow is enough to insulate the ground from the cold air above," Boulay said.
Frost depth has several effects, both negative and positive. On the negative side are damage to water systems and the potential for delays in fieldwork because of the need for soil to thaw before the work can get done. On the positive side is some "natural" management to pest populations, according to USDA Midwest Climate Hub Director Dennis Todey. "There is some potential for helping kill off some pests trying to overwinter with the open soils and cold," Todey said.
The strong cold pattern and subsequent frost depth will be closely watched as February moves on and the calendar heads to March. "(It is) hard to know what will happen since there is a lot of winter to go and March really dictates what happens," Boulay said.
Bryce Anderson can be reached at bryce.anderson@dtn.com
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