Parched counties needed today's rain

By Diane Graff of the Daily Times staff
Thursday, July 26, 2007 12:45 PM CDT

Sue Strese looks over her property at N7112 County Highway P after localized heavy rain and high winds caused damage and flooding this morning. A garden structure, furniture and a light pole were overturned by the winds of an early morning storm, while continuing steady rains had accumulated nearly 5 inches in her rain gauge. (John Hart/Daily Times)

The rain that fell in the Watertown area this morning could not have come at a better time as area farm fields were beginning to show signs of stress from the lack of moisture.

The storms that rolled through the area mid-morning brought much needed rain to Watertown.

But some areas got too much rain, too fast.

Heavy rains were reported in northern Dodge County, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning this morning. Large storm cells went through the Beaver Dam and Waupun areas shortly after 9 a.m. today.

Heavy storms also hit the Pipersville area in Jefferson County. Sue Strese of Farmington Acres, N7112 County Highway P, reported just under 5 inches of rain as of 9:30 a.m. today as a storm with strong winds went through the area. Two empty hay wagons were moved around and lawn ornaments were damaged.

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The rainfall was scattered, as the fire chief in Waterloo this morning said little rain had fallen in the city as the department posted a burning moratorium. The burning ban comes on the heels of a barn fire Wednesday morning that was caused by a controlled burn. Minimal damage was reported to the barn.

The forecast calls for more rain tonight and Friday. Hopefully, when the system moves through, all areas of the state will have received some moisture.

Prior to today's rainfall, the city of Watertown had recorded less than an inch of rain, .91 inches so far this month. On three of the past 25 days, traces of precipitation were recorded.

That followed a dry ending to the month of June. The previous month started on a wet note with precipitation recorded every day from June 2-8. But then the days of rainfall were few and far in-between.

“Things are really dry,” Dodge County Crops and Soils Agent Matt Hanson said from his office Wednesday afternoon. “We have had a lot of rains over the past month but most of them had been scattered and not a wide spread shower. But for the most part things are uniformly dry pretty much across the county.”

On Wednesday, the rainfall just missed the county to the east, leaving up to 2 inches of rain in various locations in Washington County. Hopefully, the rainfall today will be more widespread.

“The good news yet, for the most part, is the corn may be showing signs of stress during the day, but not in the morning,” the agent said. “During the morning the subsoil moisture helps the plant look normal, which is a sign that stress is not at the point it will cause death to the plant,” he added. “But it will affect grain yield and ear development.

“If we had rain now it would make headlines like million dollar rains,” Hanson said prior to today's rainfall.

It is difficult to determine how long the corn plant can continue growing without rain, Hanson explained. “There are a lot of factors that contribute to the growth of the plant,” he added. “One is how much moisture reserve there is in the soil.”

Another factor is how deep the roots of the corn plant have grown, Hanson said. Because the spring was dry, the corn roots grew downward. “If we would have had a wet spring and this all of a sudden kicked in, it would have been more detrimental because the roots stayed on the surface,” he explained.

“If you think back to two years ago we had a real dry summer and there was a lot of concern for the yields. But by the end of the season we had some very impressive yields. Don't count the crop out yet.”

Soybeans are more tolerant of the dry conditions, Hanson said.

Farmers are currently cutting their third crop of hay, the agent said. The third crop will be the hardest hit by the dry weather, he added. It is not unusual for the third crop to be the lowest in quality and quantity.

Winter wheat harvest is currently under way in the county and “the producers are very happy,” Hanson said. The yields range from 70 to 100 bushels per acre and some over 100 bushels an acre, he added. “The standability has been great this year,” he noted pointing out that not much of the crop was blown over or lodged. The straw that is also being taken off the fields is looking good, too, he added.

“Any little rain would help right now,” Hanson said. And that rain is in the area.