Another Harvest Window Opening Wide
Our neighbors to the south will see Hurricane Helene hinder harvest progress this weekend, but the impacts to Michigan will be limited.
In his Seed Genetics Direct Harvest Weather Forecast, Chief Meteorologist Ryan Martin says the southern half of Lower Michigan might see some cloud cover Friday from the low that Helene is bringing this way.
“I don’t think many of us see a lot of moisture, not a lot of shower activity, but I guess I won’t rule it out at this point, especially I-96 southward. Keep an eye out for some hit-and-miss showers. If you see something, we’re talking a few hundredths to a tenth or two, that is all. So, it’s not a big event, however, as Helene then just kind of sits and rotates with the remains down near the bootheel of Missouri. I do think we see plenty of clouds off and on through the balance of Saturday and through Sunday, even into early Monday, which means even though we’re not seeing a lot of rain, we may not be drying things down very much.”
Martin is calling for a significant dry period beginning Tuesday and going through the remainder of next week.
“Yes, there’s some on again, off again clouds in here, particularly Thursday into Friday. That’s mostly due to cooler Canadian air trying to sag southward across the northern Great Lakes. I think we’re going to be dry all the way through and have plenty of opportunity to get back in the field and do fieldwork. That dry weather is going to come with excellent evaporation rates. So, it really comes down to how fast can you start after dealing with some of this on again, off again moisture that we’ve seen as of late.”
Martin thinks we’re clear of any major harvest disruptions until midweek the week of the 7th.
“We’re watching low pressure come across the Northern Rockies on the 6th. It will gather some moisture from the south, probably hit the upper Midwest for the 7th into the 8th and then the 8th toward the 9th is when we see that showing up in the Great Lakes. That brings us another pause in harvest activity over most of the state.”
The Seed Genetics Direct Harvest Weather Forecast is also brought to you by Greenstone Farm Credit Services. Get more forecast details later Friday at michiganagtoday.com.
