Area has chance of rain next week

If an approaching cold front doesn't bring rain, it still should cool off the area slightly.

Drought-weary farmers want rain, but it's uncertain whether Mother Nature will oblige soon.

The area has a 30 to 40 percent chance of rain Sunday through Tuesday, said Robin Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky.

The best chance is Monday, when there is a 40 percent chance of showers. Sunday and Tuesday have a 30 percent chance of rain.

Smith wishes he could offer a higher chance of showers. He knows farmers want rain.

"I don't blame them. I'd like to have some myself," he said.

While an approaching cold front might not bring rain, it should cool off the area slightly, Smith said.

By Tuesday, temperatures, which have steadily been in the mid-90s, could get down to the upper 80s.

Gov. Matt Blunt has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare 109 of Missouri's 114 counties an agriculture disaster because of the drought. The area includes all of Southeast Missouri.

Through the end of July, rainfall was more than 8 inches below normal in parts of the state. Similar drought conditions have been reported in Illinois.

David Reinbott, an agriculture specialist with the University of Missouri Extension in Benton, Mo., said rains have been spotty in the Bootheel and yields in the region could be down as much as 20 percent.

The drought increasingly is affecting the soybean crop, he said.

"You will find all the hot spots are really starting to show up out there," he said. "Each day we go without rain, it really is cutting your yield."

The situation isn't as bad in some parts of Southeast Missouri.

Corn grower and Cape Girardeau County 1st District Commissioner Larry Bock said the crop at his Gordonville area farm benefited from heavy rains spawned by Hurricane Dennis earlier this summer and a couple hard rains since then.

"Most of the corn is made now," said Bock.

Although some areas of the county have seen little rain, Bock won't use superlatives with this drought. "We have been a lot worse off," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123