New Ag-Climate Tools Put Soil Temperature and Chilling Hours Accumulations Into a Historical Perspective

The Midwestern Regional Climate Center (MRCC) and the USDA Midwest Climate Hub partnered to develop two online tools to help the agricultural community understand climate patterns and risks in the north-central United States. The Soil Temperature Climatology Tool uses bias-adjusted data from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) to assess seasonal soil temperature normals from 1991 to 2020. Users can view dates (averages and extremes) when ag-relevant thresholds are achieved and view 7-day average soil temperatures by day of the year. This information has grown in demand in recent years and benefits a range of on-farm decisions associated with fieldwork, plant growth, and pest and disease management. The Interactive Chilling Hours Tool lets users track current season chilling hour accumulations and departures from average using customized temperature thresholds and time periods. Data are driven by hourly ASOS/AWOS weather observations dating as far back as 1944, and users can view seasonal accumulations for any period within the historical record. Accumulated chilling hours offer a way to track the length of exposure to optimum dormancy temperatures that are required for many fruit-producing plants to produce a successful and quality crop the following growing season. Since each type of fruit plant requires a specific range of accumulated chilling hours, this fully customizable tool offers a unique opportunity for enhanced specialty crop monitoring and management.