This spring has been extremely wet in the Midwest, with heavy rainfall and even floods sweeping across the Great Plains and much of the rest of the Midwestern United States.
Although drought levels have thankfully dwindled to nearly zero across the country, this means that there are risks of further flooding, storms, and even twisters across Arkansas, Missouri, and other parts of the Farm Belt.
Read on to learn about the storms and how the unpredictable weather has affected crop planting for farmers.
Winds, hail, and heavy precipitation have been affecting the Great Plains region for several weeks, particularly in the later part of May. The entire Midwestern area has been slammed with heavy rains throughout spring 2019, causing the Mississippi River to rise to dangerous levels.
During the week of May 20, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas were all hit with high levels of rain, ranging from four to even eight inches in certain regions. Floods have caused a great deal of property damage and a number of car accidents and injuries, although the number of deaths has been relatively low.
Nebraska and Iowa have been most affected by the late spring flooding, causing crucial delays in the usual crop planting periods, while Arkansas and Mississippi farmers are also struggling to plant their crops on time because of the rain.
These delays could lead to dire circumstances for many Farm Belt laborers and farmers, as both corn and soybean planting have been pushed back far behind typical timelines.
In Missouri, only 62% of the corn crops have been planted, along with only 9% of soybeans (and 31% in Arkansas). Last year by this time, those percentages were 95%, 58%, and 78%, respectively.
Flood advisories and warnings have been issued for the entire southern Great Plains region, from Texas to Illinois, in the coming days. Additionally, the storms could potentially spin off into twisters, continuing the pattern of destruction and severe weather throughout the Midwest in the weeks to come.
Tornado watches have been issued for western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma as of May 22, 2019, and moving into the following week.
