Northwest Iowa — If you’re a farmer who has crops coming up, there’s one more concern to add to your plate in the next few days — it’s going to get pretty cold at night for the next few days.
Farmers will tell you that young corn plants can handle some lower temperatures, but soybeans — not so much.
According to the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, areas of frost or freezing temperatures are possible from now through this weekend with overnight low temperatures falling into the lower to mid-30s in the Sheldon area, which will impact any sensitive vegetation. Daytime temperatures will also remain below normal through this period with highs only in the 50s to low 60s. We’re told that more typical early May temperatures won’t return until the middle of next week.
The current forecast for the Sheldon area is for low temperatures in the lower 30s until Monday, with the greatest risk predicted for Sunday when it could get down to 30 degrees.
Iowa State University Extension experts tell us that temperatures between 28 and 32 degrees F are damaging, but not necessarily lethal until temperatures fall below 28 degrees F. They say the severity of frost damage is influenced by the length of time below 32 degrees F.
If you have new plants in your garden or flower bed, you may want to cover them overnight until at least Tuesday, given the current forecast.
