A Station for Everyone
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Deluge Delays Crop Planting, Causes Hail In SE Nebraska, 5:04

052819 504

Strong thunderstorms that affected eastern Nebraska and western Iowa dumped heavy rain and, in southwest Omaha, piles of hail that temporarily stranded some motorists.

The Omaha World-Herald reported dozens of cars pulled off Interstate 80 with broken windshields. North Platte also received reports of baseball-sized hail.

Southwest Omaha also saw large amounts of hail that piled up on streets that brought out at least one city snowplow to clear the mess. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says water releases from Gavins Point Dam will be increased today and tomorrow because of heavy rainfall over a large portion of the Missouri River basin above Sioux City.

Rainfall in Nebraska, South Dakota and central North Dakota for the past seven days has been 200 percent to 600 percent of normal, leading to higher inflows to South Dakota reservoirs.

And all of that rain has delayed corn planting in South Dakota.  According to the latest weekly federal crop report, corn planting in South Dakota was 25 percent complete as of Sunday. That's well behind the pace of 87 percent at this time last year and 90 percent for the five-year average. Corn was 2 percent emerged, well behind 45 percent last year and 57 percent average.

Soybean planting was only 6 percent, compared with 56 percent last year and 64 percent average.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says she rejected a bill late last week that would’ve expanded Iowa’s medical marijuana program because she thought it went too far.

The bill that passed with wide bipartisan support would’ve allowed for much more potent medical marijuana products at the state’s five dispensaries. Some Republican House members later reversed their position on the policy.

Related Content