Severe weather and flooding delay planting
California’s State Water Project will provide full allocations this year to 29 water agencies for the first time since 2006.
The agency was aided in their decision by 700 inches of snow that has fallen this season in the Sierra Nevada mountains - the 2nd largest amount since 1952.
Flooding is now a concern in some areas below the mountains in the West as the snow melts.
Heavy rain is causing local issues in the Grain Belt as severe weather rolled through much of middle America.
David Miller has our weather wrap.
Transcript
“There’s a tornado, a huge tornado.”
Severe weather opened up in the lower Plains this week. This large tornado was spotted just south of Oklahoma City in the community of Cole.
Damage was visible from the air Wednesday night. At least three people were killed in the storm. Severe weather spread from Oklahoma through Kansas and into Iowa.
Rainfall was prominent along that same midwestern line of weather. Ponding at the field’s edge will delay work for several days.
Much of Iowa, eastern Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin had rainfall in the 1 inch range with some isolated areas receiving more than 3 inches in total. The Delta states also saw wide-spread rainfall.
According to USDA, corn planting was ahead of the 5-year average but storms over the weekend, and again mid-week, slowed progress.
Heavy and persistent melting of record snowfall is causing the most concern across the country.
The dots in purple represent major flooding - mostly in Minnesota and North Dakota. Red dots are for moderate flooding in the same region which extends along the Mississippi River.
Here in Stillwater, Minnesota the St. Croix River is well out of its banks in some locations and pumps are working to send water over a temporary levee that is protecting much of the downtown.
For the ninth consecutive week, the Drought Monitor revealed conditions were improving. Currently, a little more than half of the country is out of drought.
For Market to Market, I’m David Miller.
contact: Paul.Yeager@iowapbs.org