Indiana farmers will enjoy a dry start to the weekend, though tropical moisture and a pair of upcoming fronts could briefly disrupt field progress over the next 10 days.
Chief Meteorologist Ryan Martin delivered his latest harvest weather forecast presented by Beacon Credit Union noting that the threat of significant rainfall from Hurricane Isaias has diminished compared to earlier projections.
While early model runs raised concern about heavy tropical rain pushing deep into the state, Martin expects the bulk of the northern surge to miss most Hoosier fields.
“Right now I think the best area of precipitation is going to be south and east of a line from somewhere between the Decatur and Portland area all the way back toward Terre Haute,” Martin says. “South of that line, we’re going to be seeing moisture on the order of a quarter to maybe an inch or more, depending on thunderstorms. That will increase the likelihood of not seeing any harvest done in those areas over the Sunday timeframe, but it doesn’t last long-term—everything should be gone by Monday morning. And to be clear: northern areas, we definitely see clouds for Sunday, but nothing that really, truly interrupts harvest potential for that period.”
Heading into the upcoming week, producers across central and western Indiana should see continued harvest progress, though Northeast Indiana could pick up a stray shower Monday into Tuesday. The more widespread threat of rain arrives toward the end of the week as a slowing frontal boundary approaches.
“The bigger threat of moisture next week is going to be coming Thursday into Friday,” Martin explains. “A frontal boundary that kind of slows as it moves across our area gives us two direct chances of rain: one Thursday, one Friday and especially Friday night. We’re looking at anywhere from a quarter to one inch combined out of those with about 60 to 70% coverage. So it’s enough probably to interrupt harvest just a little bit, but not for everyone. It’s going to be a place-by-place kind of setup.”
Behind that late-week system, autumn chill will take a firm grip across the Corn Belt.
“The 17th, 18th, and even into the early 19th, we’ve got frosts likely, especially over northern Indiana, significant drop in temperatures out in the upper Midwest and northern Plains,” Martin notes. “And then for the week of the 19th, we go back to mostly dry conditions, at least until the next round of cold air dives southward the 22nd into the 23rd.”
Producers can review Martin’s full harvest forecast and daily weather maps on Hoosier Ag Today.
