June 13-19, 2001:

The week of June 13 to June 19 brought more disappointment to the saturated farms of the northwestern Midwest. All of Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin received above normal amounts of rainfall (Figure 16). More importantly, central Iowa, eastern and southern Minnesota, and southern Wisconsin received rain from multiple mesoscale convective events traveling along either stationary or warm fronts draped across the area. Precipitation totals of 3-5 inches were commonplace in these already wet areas (Figure 17), more than 300% of normal in a wide swath through Minnesota (Figure 18). Heavy storms from the 12th to the 15th and on the 18th and 19th, brought not only field-flooding rains, but also severe hail and windstorms that further damaged crops that had emerged and progressed. Soil moisture ratings of surplus were found on more than 50% of the farmland in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin even without including the effects of the storms on the 18th. On the evening of the 19th, a tremendous mesoscale convective system dumped more than 10 inches of rain on places in northeastern Kansas, and then proceeded into northwestern Missouri, where 3-6 inches fell over an area still very wet from rains about a week earlier (Figure 19, NWS). Kansas City, MO, suffered significant urban street flooding, and flash flooding was widespread. In the rest of the region, precipitation was either near normal or drier than normal. Areas suffering from long term moisture deficits but that had received some relief earlier in the month started drying again, especially in the south-central Midwest. Short and very short soil moisture ratings increased greatly in south central and southeastern districts in Missouri, and increased generally in western Kentucky, southern Illinois, and southern Indiana. Most of the Midwest was above normal in temperature by 4-8°F (Figure 20), although it was nearer to normal in the persistently wet areas. The increased temperatures were very helpful to crop development and helped the corn and soybeans recover their normal green coloration in many areas this week.