MONROE - Lafayette and Green counties are among many in southern Wisconsin under a heat advisory extending into Thursday evening, the National Weather Service (NWS) announced.
NWS reported humid conditions would spread over the area today with heat index values reaching 98 to 105 degrees this afternoon and evening. These conditions increase the risk of health-related issues. Green County Emergency Management has identified cooling centers for those without air conditioning.
With brisk south winds accompanying the hot temperatures and dry conditions, NWS expected fire conditions to become elevated Wednesday.
Fireworks and campfires
Beloit banned all open burning and consumer fireworks use Tuesday, and Fond du Lac was considering a burning ban and postponing or canceling its public fireworks display.
But as of Wednesday morning, the Monroe Fire Department had not issued a ban on fires or fireworks.
The dry conditions "are nothing out of the ordinary," Deputy Fire Chief Lane Heins said.
Grassfires in the county earlier in the week were mostly the result of hot embers from earlier burning of trash or brush piles which were brought back to life by the high winds, Heins said.
The Monroe Fire Department asks people to use more caution with their campfires, make sure cookout fires and bonfires are put out completely before leaving them and use extra care when disposing of used fireworks.
"As of now, fireworks are on," for the City of Monroe Fourth of July celebration at Twining Park, Paul Klinzing, park supervisor, said Tuesday.
The pyrotechnics vendor, Krueger Pyrotechnics and Firework Displays, does not intend to cancel Monroe fireworks, only because the site is "in a park setting where the grass is short," and because the city fire and street departments will assist with watering down the area prior to the show, Klinzing said. Krueger already canceled at least two other shows this year because they were set too close to a wheat field and a hillside with long grasses.
Krueger is prepared to handle any flare-ups, Klinzing added.
If the dry conditions continue to deteriorate too much by next week, Klinzing said the city could use its "rain date" to reschedule the show. He noted that 1988, for example, was an historic dry year, but the city went ahead with its fireworks with the assistance of the fire and street departments.
Crops under stress
Southern Wisconsin needs additional rain badly, the United States Department of Agriculture reported Monday.
Green County rainfall for June is now more than 3.5 inches below the normal average of 4.25 inches. The Madison area is three inches below normal for the year, and Milwaukee is two inches below normal.
USDA reporters in the south noted corn's poor emergence, uneven fields and signs of plant stress due to lack of moisture.
Lafayette and Grant counties reported needing rain. Rock County reported crop conditions worsening significantly last week, with low yields and good test weights on the beginning wheat harvest. Without rain this week, some acres will not produce anything, Rock County added.
"Corn, in the next two weeks, will need rain or it'll be hurt," said Green County UW Extension agent Mark Mayer. "We're entering the critical stage for corn, where it grows rapidly in height."
While the first cutting of hay was below average, the second cutting was good. But without rain, there will be no third cutting, Mayer added, and not much grain either.
Mayer said it's better to have this dry season early, but "rain is on back order."
"Green County had less than one-half inch of rain in June," Mayer said. The area's last significant rainfall - three-quarter inch - was May 26.
Fortunately, the area had an early planting season, a record number of growing days and May rains, so yields are high already. But the advantage could be lost unless it rains soon.
Mayer also pointed out that this dry period is similar to the 1988 drought, but without the same high humidity.
Corn in the lower areas, where moisture is better, and soybeans, which can tolerate drier conditions, are still in "pretty good" condition, Mayer said. But corn on uplands and on ridges, where soil is thinner, will be quicker to show signs of stress. Water stress during development results in reduced plant height and less leaf area.
Evaporation from the soil is the major loss of water during early stages of growth. As corn leaf area increases, leaves become the major pathway through which water moves from the soil through the plant to the atmosphere.
Corn and soybeans will curl or roll their leaves as a natural defense to conserve moisture during hot, dry weather. Highly stressed plants will begin leaf rolling early in the day.
"If they unroll and are back to normal by early morning, they're OK," Mayer said. But if leaves remain rolled, it's a sure sign the plant is in trouble.
Harvest yields are reduced when water demand exceeds water supply from the soil at any time during the corn life cycle. Nutrient uptake is impaired and plants become more susceptible to disease and insect damage without sufficient water.
Mayer predicts corn is stressed enough to reduce yields by three percent per day, if the area receives no rain by July 1. Small grains yields could be reduced by about seven percent per day by the time it enters pollination in two weeks.
The National Weather Service predicts a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms Thursday afternoon in the area and near the Illinois border into Friday. Another chance (30 percent) of thunderstorms returns late Saturday into Sunday.
NWS reported humid conditions would spread over the area today with heat index values reaching 98 to 105 degrees this afternoon and evening. These conditions increase the risk of health-related issues. Green County Emergency Management has identified cooling centers for those without air conditioning.
With brisk south winds accompanying the hot temperatures and dry conditions, NWS expected fire conditions to become elevated Wednesday.
Fireworks and campfires
Beloit banned all open burning and consumer fireworks use Tuesday, and Fond du Lac was considering a burning ban and postponing or canceling its public fireworks display.
But as of Wednesday morning, the Monroe Fire Department had not issued a ban on fires or fireworks.
The dry conditions "are nothing out of the ordinary," Deputy Fire Chief Lane Heins said.
Grassfires in the county earlier in the week were mostly the result of hot embers from earlier burning of trash or brush piles which were brought back to life by the high winds, Heins said.
The Monroe Fire Department asks people to use more caution with their campfires, make sure cookout fires and bonfires are put out completely before leaving them and use extra care when disposing of used fireworks.
"As of now, fireworks are on," for the City of Monroe Fourth of July celebration at Twining Park, Paul Klinzing, park supervisor, said Tuesday.
The pyrotechnics vendor, Krueger Pyrotechnics and Firework Displays, does not intend to cancel Monroe fireworks, only because the site is "in a park setting where the grass is short," and because the city fire and street departments will assist with watering down the area prior to the show, Klinzing said. Krueger already canceled at least two other shows this year because they were set too close to a wheat field and a hillside with long grasses.
Krueger is prepared to handle any flare-ups, Klinzing added.
If the dry conditions continue to deteriorate too much by next week, Klinzing said the city could use its "rain date" to reschedule the show. He noted that 1988, for example, was an historic dry year, but the city went ahead with its fireworks with the assistance of the fire and street departments.
Crops under stress
Southern Wisconsin needs additional rain badly, the United States Department of Agriculture reported Monday.
Green County rainfall for June is now more than 3.5 inches below the normal average of 4.25 inches. The Madison area is three inches below normal for the year, and Milwaukee is two inches below normal.
USDA reporters in the south noted corn's poor emergence, uneven fields and signs of plant stress due to lack of moisture.
Lafayette and Grant counties reported needing rain. Rock County reported crop conditions worsening significantly last week, with low yields and good test weights on the beginning wheat harvest. Without rain this week, some acres will not produce anything, Rock County added.
"Corn, in the next two weeks, will need rain or it'll be hurt," said Green County UW Extension agent Mark Mayer. "We're entering the critical stage for corn, where it grows rapidly in height."
While the first cutting of hay was below average, the second cutting was good. But without rain, there will be no third cutting, Mayer added, and not much grain either.
Mayer said it's better to have this dry season early, but "rain is on back order."
"Green County had less than one-half inch of rain in June," Mayer said. The area's last significant rainfall - three-quarter inch - was May 26.
Fortunately, the area had an early planting season, a record number of growing days and May rains, so yields are high already. But the advantage could be lost unless it rains soon.
Mayer also pointed out that this dry period is similar to the 1988 drought, but without the same high humidity.
Corn in the lower areas, where moisture is better, and soybeans, which can tolerate drier conditions, are still in "pretty good" condition, Mayer said. But corn on uplands and on ridges, where soil is thinner, will be quicker to show signs of stress. Water stress during development results in reduced plant height and less leaf area.
Evaporation from the soil is the major loss of water during early stages of growth. As corn leaf area increases, leaves become the major pathway through which water moves from the soil through the plant to the atmosphere.
Corn and soybeans will curl or roll their leaves as a natural defense to conserve moisture during hot, dry weather. Highly stressed plants will begin leaf rolling early in the day.
"If they unroll and are back to normal by early morning, they're OK," Mayer said. But if leaves remain rolled, it's a sure sign the plant is in trouble.
Harvest yields are reduced when water demand exceeds water supply from the soil at any time during the corn life cycle. Nutrient uptake is impaired and plants become more susceptible to disease and insect damage without sufficient water.
Mayer predicts corn is stressed enough to reduce yields by three percent per day, if the area receives no rain by July 1. Small grains yields could be reduced by about seven percent per day by the time it enters pollination in two weeks.
The National Weather Service predicts a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms Thursday afternoon in the area and near the Illinois border into Friday. Another chance (30 percent) of thunderstorms returns late Saturday into Sunday.