Over the past 30 days, much of the central U.S. has benefited from well-timed, meaningful rainfall. Key agricultural zones have seen moisture return just when needed most. But not every region is on the winning side of this cycle as pockets of persistent dryness remain, particularly across parts of Missouri, where the pattern has also been consistent, consistently missing with heavy rainfall, and yet still perhaps getting just enough.
These rainfall patterns are not random. As we’ve tracked since October, the current LRC cycle, now repeating for the 6th time has returned key systems on schedule, bringing precipitation to many of the same regions that benefited in prior cycles, or even have had too much rain over parts of southern Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. As we’ve seen time and time again this year, the LRC doesn’t just bring storms on schedule, it brings them back to the same regions, again and again.
Certain zones, especially across parts of Oklahoma, southern Missouri, and the Mid-South continue to get hit with round after round of rain. Meanwhile, just a few counties away, it’s been a frustrating weather pattern to experience with so many near misses and lingering dryness. This sharp gradient is no accident. It’s the fingerprint of a powerful, structured pattern at work. Keep in mind, if you are in an area that seems to get missed over and over again, well, it is also part of the LRC.
But there’s some good news. Cooler air filtering in has helped slow evaporation, and more importantly, we’ve now entered the stormier and wetter phase of the cycle that lasts three weeks, the “phase 1” of this year’s LRC as we have discussed so often. Based on the timing and energy in this latest return of the LRC, we’re confident that new opportunities for soaking rainfall are emerging, especially in some of the regions that have been left out in previous cycles. Now, I have said this before, and then the rainfall patterns have fallen right into the same spots.
Before summer locks in, we’re tracking multiple storm systems with the potential to deliver meaningful rain to those drier pockets. Take a look at the past two 30-day rainfall charts below. They’ll give you some perspective on who’s been hit hardest and who’s still waiting. Over the past month there has been an overall drier region from along the Kansas/Nebraska border extending and expanding northeast over Iowa, northern Missouri, Illinois, into Indiana. The additional charts will show you what we are expecting, including the American and European models. If you’d like to learn more about what weather 2020’s dashboard can do for your operation, click HERE.
