News

More rain coming

An agricultural meteorologist says a significant wet weather pattern is going to make it even more challenging for farmers to get caught up on planting.

“Especially right now, it looks like across the Western Corn Belt, that’s the area where over the next couple of weeks we’re looking at persistent rainfall and thunderstorms,” said meteorologist Kyle Rippey. “That’s going to really make it difficult to get much planting done over the next week or two.”

The series of storms forecast for the remainder of May will bring considerable rain and possible flooding, Rippey told Brownfield Ag News Friday.

“Anywhere from Eastern Kansas and Eastern Nebraska, up through Iowa, Southern Minnesota, Wisconsin,” said Rippey, “those areas are looking at pretty widespread 3 to 5 inches of rain over the ten or so days, and there’s certainly probably going to some areas that get even more than that.”

While the Western Corn Belt has the highest risk for rain, farmers in the Eastern Corn Belt should have more opportunity to get in the fields.

“I think across the Eastern Corn Belt doesn’t look as bad so southern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, those areas are going be seeing some improved conditions here over the next probably week to ten days,” he said.

And farmers in Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan will still be struggling with below-normal soil temperatures for a while.

“Beyond that I think we’ll begin to see some moderation,” said Rippey, “but really, this weekend, early next week temperatures are going to be ten-to-maybe-even-more-than-that degrees below normal.”

A series of three storm systems is expected to slowly pass through the heartland over the next ten days, with only two or three days between storms.