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CARC Update. Allen Dutcher State Climatologist - Nebraska adutcher1@unl.edu (402)-472-5206. Equatorial Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures. Water Year Precipitation. SMI maps. The soil moisture index (SMI) scales the fraction of available water in a 50 cm (~20 in.) profile
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CARC Update Allen Dutcher State Climatologist - Nebraska adutcher1@unl.edu (402)-472-5206
SMI maps • The soil moisture index (SMI) scales the fraction of available water in a 50 cm (~20 in.) profile • Scaled such that 0.0 is the equivalent of 50% available water • 5.0 represents a soil at field capacity and -5.0 represents a soil at wilting point • Measured under grass cover • Can be used to approximate soil moisture in nearby grain fields
Surplus or Deficit maps • The surplus or deficit maps show how much water: • Is needed to get the soil profile back to 50% available water (shown on the map as a deficit) • Is left in the soil profile before the 50% threshold is reached (shown on the map as a surplus) • The colored dot represents the SMI at that location • Irrigation scheduling possibilities?
Platte River Update • 2 Million acre-feet of runoff projected • Current storage: 830,000 acre-feet • Flood pool storage: 250,000 acre-feet • Water releases increased by CNPPID with high flows for at least 30 days • Near record to record river stages and doesn’t include southern branch flows • Sudden warmth and/or heavy rainfall would aggravate the situation • Irrigation will determine summer flood risk