Wet Weather Continues in Illinois, Could Delay Harvest

October is off to a wet start and the wet weather is expected to continue over the next 14 days for Illinois. This could have an impact on the already slow fall harvest season in Illinois. The USDA NASS report on Monday noted that 14% of the corn crop in Illinois was harvested, compared to a 5-year average of 34%. Also, 10% of the soybean crop was harvested compared to the 5-year average of 18%.

Here is the precipitation over the past 24 hours. Amounts of 1 to 3 inches were widespread across central Illinois. This was the same area that received much above average precipitation in September, according to the post on September.

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Here is the NWS Quantitative Precipitation Forecast for the next 7 days. The heaviest precipitation is expected to fall in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. For Illinois, amounts are in the range of 1 to almost 3 inches.  Continue reading “Wet Weather Continues in Illinois, Could Delay Harvest”

Not All of the Corn Belt is Wet

90-Day precipitation departure from normal (1981-2010 average).
90-Day precipitation departure from normal (1981-2010 average).

Here is the latest map of 90-day precipitation departures from average across the Midwest. The greens, blues, and purple show areas that were 2 to 12 inches above average. That is the dominate feature of much of the western and central Corn Belt. Meanwhile, the areas in light tan and yellow in southeastern Indiana, southern and eastern Ohio, and small patches in Kentucky and southern Illinois show areas that are 1 to 4 inches below average. The dry areas are nowhere near as severe as 2012. However, it is worth watching as we move through the growing season.