Rains Flood Central States, No Drought Relief for Southwest

Recent storms delivered pounding rains that hampered fieldwork and sparked local flooding across portions of the Plains, Midwest and South, although overall growing conditions remained mostly favorable for summer crops.

Across the nation’s mid-section, rain slowed or halted the winter wheat harvest, which had been progressing across the central Plains and nearing completion on the southern Plains. At least 75,000 acres of row crops in five Arkansas counties were under water following record rain last weekend, according to estimates compiled by the Arkansas Agriculture Department. In contrast, showers largely bypassed portions of the southern Mid-Atlantic States. Elsewhere, dry weather prevailed from California to the southern Rockies, while showers provided beneficial moisture to immature winter wheat and spring-sown small grains across the interior Northwest. S