NWS picks up heavy rainfall in southwest michigan

Field crops in southwest Michigan received heavy rainfall the last few days of June, according to a release from the Michigan State University Extension. This was in contrast with the weather before June 25, which was reliably hot and dry.

The counties of Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Branch received the heaviest precipitation, with National Weather Service Doppler radar showing rainfall in excess of 5 to 6 inches in those areas. But most of the counties have coarse soils, which should allow for faster water drainage.

Given the amount of rain that fell, many fields still have standing water. When combined with warm temperatures, the saturated areas could see crop stand losses and soil nitrogen loss.