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• Sioux Falls and Rapid City saw problems because of the very heavy rainfalls in late May.
• "But the issues and longevity could have been much worse if background conditions were already wet," he said.
• Outlooks for June, which were updated last week, give no strong indications for temperature and precipitation, says Todey. The US Seasonal Drought Outlook released this morning indicates continued likely drought improvement.
• "Looking at the models, chances for precipitation look to become less. But we do not see a shut-off in precipitation like last summer," he said.
• Most soils are moist enough now to promote plant growth. The deeper soils are still a little concerning in some places where reports still indicate some dryness. If precipitation is reasonably consistent we do not expect major issues this summer. Some warmer than average temperatures are more likely by mid-June in western parts of the state.
• For the bulk of the summer, Todey says the outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center have better chances for dryness and warmer conditions in the southwestern parts of the state with no specific outlooks for the remainder of the state.
• "The southwest is the area still most impacted by drought and is already at a higher risk for dryness issues," he said. "For the rest of the state conditions do not seem very concerning."
• Most producers at this point would like to see sunshine and warmer temperatures now to push along crop development and continue rangeland green-up.