May On Track To Break Last Year’s Record Rainfall
May 18, 2020 9:02AM CDT
A car drives through water on a flooded road in Waukegan, Ill., Saturday, May 2, 2020. Runoff from recent rains, while diminishing, continues to feed into Chicago-area rivers and streams with many still in flood or running near bankfull. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Three things are generally needed for a flooding event, saturated ground from previous rain or snow melt, periods of moderate to heavy rain and a stalled weather system. We had two of these over a three day period. The month of May last year was the wettest May on record with 8.25 inches of rain, surpassing the previous year’s record of 8.21 inches of rain. This year, May is on track to break that record. Currently, we have 8.19 inches of rain with 13 days left in the month.
Last year only 11% of corn was planted in the state up to May 10th due to heavy rain throughout April and early May. So far corn is 68% planted due to dry conditions earlier in the spring. The worry now is flooded crops.
