That planting window appears to only be opening halfway, meaning only half of Indiana will see favorable conditions in this week’s Beacon Credit Union Planting Weather Forecast.
Hoosier Ag Today Chief Meteorologist Ryan Martin is calling for moisture to lift upward beginning Friday afternoon and take a slow progression to the north overnight and into Saturday.
“Right now, I think we have to pencil in moisture through at least Saturday afternoon, and we’re looking at probably a quarter to 1.5 inches. The higher end of the range will depend heavily on who gets thunderstorms. There will be strong storms embedded in this moisture.”
Martin says Sunday tries to turn a bit dryer, but pop-up shower activity from the west and northwest might make that difficult.
“This predominantly will affect the northern half of the state. I think we see an additional few hundredths to maybe half an inch of moisture out of that, and that goes right on into early Monday morning.”
From Memorial Day Monday through next Friday, Martin’s forecast splits the state.
“In the north, we go dry. Good evaporation, good sunshine, no major weather issues. But to the south, we do see a very active precipitation setup over the Deep South, up through the Tennessee Valley, and close to the Ohio River. So, I think we have to watch for showers coming into Southern Indiana, let’s just say I-70 southward, potentially every day, or at least a couple of times in that Monday through Friday stretch next week, while the north stays dry and gives us an opportunity for fieldwork.”
As we turn the calendar to June next weekend, Martin says we can expect to see some more moisture, primarily Sunday the 31st through Tuesday the 2nd.
“It’s light stuff, but it’s pesky. It looks like we have an upper-level low circulation that may park here, just giving us multiple days of light rain. That effectively will end that wide-open planting window in the north, and it also is going to probably create a little bit of a break for us to get back into the fields because that moisture may not leave completely until we get closer to the 3rd or 4th of June.”
Sign up for the Hoosier Ag Today e-newsletter to receive Martin’s detailed forecast in your inbox each Saturday during planting and harvest season presented by Beacon Credit Union. You’ll also receive the latest Indiana farm news, weather, and market analysis each weekday.
