By Rich Pope, Department of Plant Pathology Heat or maybe lack
of heat is a better description to use in this recap of the
growing season. The degree day departure from average graphic
shows how the season progressed by crop reporting district. This
year, the state was remarkably consistent in the heat that
accumulated, with northwest and central Iowa faring just
slightly better then the rest of the state. July, late August,
and October were all very cold compared with historical records,
with July ranking as the coldest on record, and October in the
coldest five. For most of Iowa, rainfall throughout the season
was pretty average, with the slight exception in the east
central and southeast districts, where rainfall was a bit above
normal from July on. There were some very localized exceptions
associated with summer thunderstorms that brought locally heavy
rain to small areas. Two of those storms were notable, because
of devastating hail that destroyed crops and caused other
damage. The first, on July 24, cut