The Fastline Blog

Wednesday, October 28, 2009:

Rainfall was not especially heavy in the southeastern Corn Belt over the past 24 hours, but was fairly widespread across Ohio, Indiana, southern Michigan, and all but northwestern Illinois and the 0.25-0.75 inch amounts that fell were easily enough to keep harvesting there stalled. Heavier rains were found in the northern Delta, with some places there getting over an inch of very unwanted rainfall. Things are quiet across the bulk of the Midwest and Delta this morning, but clearly this is a case of “calm before the storm”. Rain will be on the increase for late today and especially tonight over the Plains, and will be headed east for the end of this week. Very heavy rains will take aim at the Delta for tomorrow and it will stay wet there for Friday. General rains of two to four inches are forecast there, but localized totals will be even heavier. Flash flood watches have already been posted for much of that area ahead of that storm. Rain for the western Corn Belt is mainly for tomorrow, but may not be all that bad in some spots with a good part of Iowa and Wisconsin possibly escaping with less than a half inch.

Further west and northwest it will be heavier with a lot of 0.50-1.50 precipitation totals for Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Minnesota with the heaviest totals as you go further west. This will be a major winter storm for northeastern Colorado, eastern Wyoming, the western third of Nebraska, the western half of South Dakota, and the central third of North Dakota; some places could see more than a foot of snow, and winter storm warnings and watches have already been posted. Rain will be spreading into the eastern Corn Belt late tomorrow, and it looks like that rain could linger in that area (as well as eastern parts of the Delta) through Saturday. Confidence remains high that a much better weather pattern for fieldwork operations will be seen in the first week of November. There may be weather systems for about November 2 and November 4, but both look very weak (rainfall amounts probably under a quarter inch for the most part) and confined to northeastern parts of the Corn Belt. Around November 8 might be the earliest to expect a more widespread and more significant rainfall event. We should also see temperatures be at least seasonal, if not warmer than normal, on a consistent basis for especially November 3 and beyond.

Freese-Notis Weather/Weather Trades, Inc. Des Moines, Iowa Copyright 2009 – All Rights Reserved

To Return to Fastline.com- Click Here