Ag Weather Forum

Weekend Rains in the Plains

Mike Palmerino
By  Mike Palmerino , DTN Senior Ag Meteorologist
Rain totals from 7 a.m. CDT April 14 to 5 a.m. April 18 show beneficial rains for the Central and Southern Plains, especially the HRW Wheat Belt. (DTN graphic)

Heavy rains over the weekend in the Central and Southern Plains winter wheat areas are considered very timely and beneficial to the crop.

Rainfall totals were actually higher in the normally drier western areas than they were in the east. A general range of amounts between 2 and 5 inches were observed from the far northern Panhandle of Texas northward across the Oklahoma Panhandle, western Kansas, far eastern Colorado and western Nebraska. Some of the precipitation in the northwest fell in the form of snow. Eastern areas picked up between 1.5 and 3 inches of rain.

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With reports showing the crop moving rapidly through the jointing stage of development and into the critical heading stage, this rainfall could not have been more beneficial and practically ensures that most of the crop will go through heading with adequate moisture.

There were reports of some very heavy rain and flooding over eastern Texas with some of the heaviest rainfall of up to a foot between Austin and Houston. Although there are some farms that are being affected, this is not considered a major production area.

One area that missed the rainfall was the High Plains of West Texas. Cotton farmers were hoping for the rain to allow them to get planting underway. Now they will have to wait.

(CZ)

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