When January nitrate was between 6 and 8 mg/L in the period of 1974-2016, annual nitrate ended up between 4.7 and 8.5, a much tighter window than the entire range of observed annual averages (0.6 to 11.7 mg/L). The overall long term annual average is 6.6 mg/L. Based on this I am predicting a below average-to-average year for Raccoon River nitrate.