First Frost, Lady Bugs and Predictions

The killing frost this autumn came in Mid-October, so that is the end of our garden this year. The garden did not produce as well as other years, the green peppers did hardly anything, the tomatoes were skimpy, while the the zucchini did okay. The last bugs to arrive were Lady Bugs, which are actually Asian beetles.

Late-October was warm enough we were able to keep the windows open for several days.

Iowa Winter Forecast 2024: It has been an abnormal year in 2024 when it comes to the Iowa weather here. We started off with back-to-back blizzards in January, had the coldest Caucus ever and we recently went through the sixth driest September on record! Iowa is in the 50/50 zone of seeing above or below normal winter precipitation this winter season. However, it says northeastern Iowa can expect above normal precipitation this season. Usually, the state of Iowa sees around 20 to 35 inches of snow during the winter months, with around 4 inches of other precipitation. On top of the temperature and precipitation predictions, the NOAA and NIDIS (National Integrated Drought Information System) also released a seasonal drought outlook.

Unfortunately, the drought is expected to persist for about 75% of Iowa through the winter season. On the other hand, it showed that a majority of southern Iowa may be out of the drought by the end of the year. So, as usual, it is about 50/50 guessing and predictions. Stay safe.