Friday, October 9, 2009 6:10 PM CDT
Heavy rainfall more than just a nuisance
Mo. farmer killed by lightning; harvest set back
By the ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lightning struck and killed a southwest Missouri farmer checking on his cattle Thursday, as storms pelted the Midwest and threatened a harvest already delayed by earlier rains.
Communities in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma were under flash flood warnings, with some areas expected to get several inches of rain into today.
A 40-year-old farmer was struck by lightning around 9:30 a.m. in the Phillipsburg area about 175 miles southwest of St. Louis, Laclede County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Ayres said. The man’s family realized something was wrong about an hour and a half later, when the farmer didn’t come back inside, Ayres said. The man’s name has not yet been released.
A cow also was killed in the lightning strike.
A handful of low-lying roads flooded, but there were few traffic problems, transportation officials said. No other deaths or injuries were reported Thursday.
This week’s rain was another setback for corn and soybean farmers in Missouri and Illinois, where spring rains delayed planting and the harvest is already weeks behind schedule. Falling temperatures also have brought a threat of frost.
Dave Down, a 64-year-old farmer with land near land near Peoria, has brought in only 90 of his 950 acres of corn and none of his 550 acres of soybeans.
“It’s sort of frustrating,” Down said. “Here I am, with about 10 percent of my corn picked and no beans. Usually this time of year, we’re two-thirds done.
“This whole year has been terrible,” he added. At this rate — assuming a freeze doesn’t claim his crop — “I think the women will be bringing Thanksgiving dinner out to the combines.”
In Illinois, the National Weather Service expected 2 to 4 inches of rain across parts of the southern and central sections of the state before tapering off today. Drier-but-cooler conditions are forecast here for the weekend, with highs generally in the 50s or low 60s. However, prospects of a Sunday low near freezing in parts of Illinois’ midsection threaten crops.
Anywhere from 2 to 6 inches of rain could fall in southwest Missouri around Springfield, as well as several inches in St. Louis from Wednesday into today.
“The responsible culprit is an upper-level storm system in the desert, southwest, that’s drawing warm, moist air into the nation’s midsection, where we have a cold front focusing the thunderstorm development,” said Steve Runnels, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Springfield, Mo.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
|
|
|
GrampaC wrote on Oct 11, 2009 6:51 AM:
Bless all that are affected. "