Weather always seems to be a popular topic of conversation, and this winter has sure heightened that talk.

To say it’s been a good year to make a snowman in South Dakota is a bit of an understatement — at least our toddler thinks it’s pretty cool. This past year was sure another challenge in the weather department for many producers. It’s the time of year when I like to put together a climate summary to reflect on.

According to NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information, when combining all South Dakota data since 1895, 2022 ranks as the 30th driest year statewide with average total precipitation of 16.93 inches.

Higher than average winter precipitation boosted this total a bit, with December rated the secondnd wettest on record (just short of 1.40 inches in 1909) with 1.37 inches of precipitation. September stood out too, as it was the 10th driest year in the 128-year series with only 0.59 inches of average moisture statewide.

2022 was ranked as the 43rd warmest year, with an average temperature of 45.2°F. Comparing state-wide rankings to 2021, 2022 was drier and cooler overall; however, a look at regional climate information will provide more details.

If we look at different regions of the state, we can see some interesting trends. In 2022, the southwest region of South Dakota experienced the 18th driest year on record with 13.60 inches of total precipitation. That is a -3.53 inches departure from “normal” and a decrease in average precipitation from 2021 when the area received 15.45 inches. If you can recall 1989, this region tied in precipitation with its recorded average in ‘89. The region had an average temperature of 47.6°F, ranking 41st warmest for the region since 1895, tying with 1977.

Central South Dakota appears to have experienced a fairly average year. The region was slightly short from average precipitation with 17.21 inches in 2022, only 0.28 inch less than “normal”; this put 2022 near the middle of precipitation rankings for the region. The average was likely brought up by a large June rainfall event at Pierre, making a 2.98 inch average regional total for the month. In addition, 1.67 inches of December precipitation made it the wettest December to date for the region. Central SD experienced the 49th warmest year on record with an average temperature of 46.0°F (a tie with 1910, ’23, and ‘83), three degrees cooler than the average 2021 temp of 49.0°F.

Northwest South Dakota experienced the 33th driest year for the region coming in with 13.31” of precipitation (a -2.39” departure from ‘normal’), similar to the 2021 average of 13.49”. The average temperature was 44.7°F (a tie with 1977), ranking the 42nd warmest in 128 years. This was quite a bit cooler than the 2021 average temp of 47.5°F (3rd warmest on record).

The northeast part of the state saw a total of 21.10 inches of precipitation, putting it right in the middle of the 128 year data set (65th driest and 64th wettest). December was actually recorded as the wettest to date in 128 years for the region with 1.73 inches of precipitation recorded. Although wetter than other regions of the state, it was drier than 2021, when the region experience 23.80 inches of precipitation. The average annual temperature for the region was 41.7°F, a tie with 1994, and only 0.2°F less than average.

The southeast region of South Dakota had the 12th driest year on record with 17.68 inches of precipitation, the driest since 1989. There were some big precipitation swings in the region with June recorded as the 12th driest (1.95 inches), and December as the fourth wettest (1.89 inches) on record. Precipitation for the year was 5.78 inches below average, the largest departure/difference from average of any other region in South Dakota.

Annual temperature was the 47th warmest on record, (2.6°F cooler than 2021) at 46.7°F, 0.6°F above the long-term average.

We certainly had an interesting growing season this year, with many folks experiencing drought at critical growing season times; however, it appears that a heavy December precipitation trend in some regions may provide spring moisture relief.

Although it’s definitely simpler to receive slow summer rains, we will have to be thankful we can make a snowman instead.

NOAA actually divides South Dakota up into nine regions referred to as "divisions," I have chosen a few to provide this overview.

If you’d like to see more data from your region, visit https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ cag/divisional/mapping or watch for reports and insights from our state climatologist, Laura Edwards at https:// extension.sdstate.edu/agriculture/climate-and-weather.

To see the most recent climate outlook, visit https:// extension.sdstate.edu/la-ninas-third-year-concludes-cold-temperatures.

Now that we have looked backwards for a while, let’s look ahead! SDSU Extension has many programming options to offer this winter.

Upcoming events and announcements:

• Crop Hour webinar series — agronomy-related educational webinars happening every Tuesday-Thursday from 10 to 11 a.m. Each week has a new topic and CCA credits are available. Registration is free at https://extension.sdstate.edu/ crop-hour.

• Sustaining the Legacy at Pierre — Feb. 7, Feb. 14 and Feb. 21 at Red Rossa Conference Center in Pierre. This is a three-day estate planning and farm succession conference. For details and registration visit extension. sdstate.edu/events.

• Rye production and utilization workshops — Feb. 15 in Brandon (1-3:30 p.m.), and Feb. 16 (1-3:30 p.m.) in Wagner or live online (2/16 only). No charge to attend. Visit extension.sdstate.edu/events for more details.

• 2022 South Dakota pest management guides — this year’s guides are available now online and available in print. The guides provide information on current weed, insect, and disease management options in South Dakota.

Printed copies should be available now or very soon at your nearest regional center or use the following link to request copies mailed directly to you: https://sdstate.questionpro.com/2023PMGrequest. For electronic copies, visit https://extension.sdstate.edu and search “pest management guide.”