North Dakota Heat Dome Next Week Will Reek Havoc On Crops

Depending on what weather service you look at, Bismarck Mandan will be pushing triple digits for the first five days of next week.  That could be the nail in the coffin for many of the crops across the state, which are already heat stressed.  Here's the forecast from the Weather Channel for Bismarck Mandan.  It is not pretty.

To add insult to injury, there is virtually no chance of rain next week.  Remember, when we used to get summertime thunderstorms?  Now, that's a rare thing.  We had virtually no thunderstorms last summer, and that trend has continued into 2021.  In fact, other than a small chance for storms one day the week of July 26th, we may not see rain for the rest of the month.  Yikes.  Talk about a gut punch for crops, livestock and people's livelihood.

According to Progressive Farmer, the state of North Dakota produces half of the nation's wheat crop each year.  Because of this years drought, the condition of wheat fields around the state are at historical lows.  They continue to decline daily.  Yield potential for the wheat crop in the state remains well below normal.  There's still hope for North Dakota's corn and bean crops but we need rain.

So, get ready to give you air conditioner a major work out next week.  If you have a backyard pool, be nice, and invite over your neighbors without.