Planting Forecast Remains Wet Through Early June
HAT Chief Meteorologist Ryan Martin’s latest planting forecast is presented by your Indiana corn and soybean checkoffs and First Farmers Bank & Trust. The question this week is simple: are we ever going to be able to get in the fields?
“Given the soil moisture profile that we have across the Hoosier state and the fact that this past week we really have not had many completely rain free days anywhere, that’s going to be a difficult question to answer. I have rain in the forecast here every day right on through the holiday weekend. I think we take a break on Tuesday, but then we have rain coming right back in the rest of next week.”
Martin worries that this trend will continue through the beginning of June. Today’s forecast includes rain in the north and eastern parts of Indiana. Tomorrow you can expect more rain, 60% coverage of the state, mostly north of I-70.
For race day on Sunday, Martin’s forecast calls for, “a tenth to three quarters of an inch with 80 percent coverage and then for Memorial Day on Monday, probably the least threat of rain, 40 percent coverage with a few hundredths to a quarter of an inch. Most of that is north and west, but you get the idea here. Right on through the holiday weekend, we have plentiful moisture around.”
In the rest of the 10-day forecast, Martin says, “After dry weather next Tuesday, you’ve got showers and thunderstorms for next Wednesday. Some of those north of US 24 could be heavy. Thursday, we see partly sunny skies with only a few scattered showers down near the river, but next Friday we see one to 6 tenths of an inch of moisture across 90 percent of the state and could see another round of precipitation late in the afternoon and evening of June 1.”
Martin’s 11 to 16-day forecast includes more rain with, “Combined totals up to 3 quarters of an inch. Can we get in the field with this kind of forecast? It’s going to be tough.”