Update on Wheat Belt Rainfall

If you scroll down, you'll see a headline from yesterday's Wall Street Journal that highlights the serious issues with worldwide supplies of wheat. Here in the U.S., we are not used to food shortages but they are possible if conditions continue poor until the U.S. harvest (late May to July from south to north) as there are poor harvest conditions in other wheat-growing parts of the world in addition to the situation in Russia and Ukraine.

Here is the amount of rain needed to break the drought in the winter wheat belt as of April 30.

These amounts are in addition to normal rainfall. 

Since the NOAA "rainfall needed" map was published as of April 30, the above is the amounts of rain that have fallen for the 72-hours ending 1pm today.

The forecast rainfall for the next five days shows helpful rainfall but the heaviest rains are forecast to fall in eastern Oklahoma where little wheat is grown. The map is valid until 7pm on the 10th. 

Looking farther ahead, the Canadian model's day 8 to 14 forecast only shows light additional rains in the wheat region.

I'll continue to report on this situation.