May 13, 2002 By Ted Boscia 5 min read

With Fayette and Greene counties cloaked in drought watch conditions for five months, the area’s recent deluge of rain that triggered flooding in parts of Fayette County last week appeared to be a welcome relief. Indeed, steady rains throughout April and May prompted the state Department of Environmental Protection to lift both counties’ drought watch declarations last week, along with 22 other counties throughout western and north central Pennsylvania.

However, while drought conditions adversely affect the area’s agriculture business, the heavy rains may not be what local farmers were looking for, either.

While the rain is an antidote for depleted groundwater levels and wells, it has hampered local farmers’ efforts to plant crops for the fall and summer harvests, said Fayette County farmer Richard Burd.

“It’s a common misconception that rain right now is wonderful,” Burd said. “From a crop production standpoint, these rains have done very little. It’s not the time that we want a lot of rain, and it’s all about timing.”

Burd indicated that the rainy conditions are on the verge of becoming a “serious problem” for the farming community if the wet weather does not disappear soon.

“We’re only two weeks away from this becoming a major problem and serious attention being turned to the market,” Burd said. “Farmers are missing their time when they can make a profit.”

According to Burd, farmers can expect a typical growing season if the rain abates by May 20. He said that farmers would show serious concern if the weather does not cooperate by June 1, and if they are unable to plant by June 15, the summer and fall harvests would be wasted.

“We normally find a way to get things planted,” he said. “The rain right now is an inconvenience, but it’s starting to be a major annoyance. We may have to start accommodating for a shorter growing season.”

With the outcome of the growing season largely dependent upon the weather for the rest of May, Bob Coblentz of the National Weather Service said local farmers could expect some relief in coming weeks.

“The outlooks are pretty much for near normal,” Coblentz said. “If that turns out to be the case, the area should stay out of the drought and can expect normal weather conditions.”

According to Coblentz, drought conditions have significantly improved during the past three months with the above-average precipitation totals. He added that rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches were typical across the state in the past 30 days, which greatly affected water levels in Fayette and Greene counties.

But, these same precipitation totals have devastated area farmers, Burd said. Despite the promising start to the season, Burd added, he is only 7 percent finished with corn planting, which falls well short of his typical schedule to be 75 percent complete by May 15.

“It’s all because of the rain,” he said. “It’s keeping us from doing the work we can do. We need it in balance and moderation. If this were to come in July, I’d be tickled.”

Burd, who has served on the Fayette County Farm Bureau, said area farmers are not the only ones stifled by inclement weather.

“It’s holding all of us back, from the Mississippi River east,” he said. “Most farmers are way behind at one-tenth to one-fourth of normal planting. Imagine that your whole paycheck for the year is determined by the weather from April 20 to Memorial Day, and you start to get a feel for what we go through.”

According to Burd, he could complete his planting in about 10 days, but the weather has allowed him to plant for less than one day to date. He added that with the current saturated conditions, each quarter-inch of rain delays planting by several days.

While Burd said he purchased crop insurance this year, the rain delays that have plagued area farmers are a common hazard of the industry.

“The weather’s been normal,” he said. “It’s not unprecedented, but it is getting our attention. It is not uncommon for rain delays at this time of year.”

Mountain weather observer Jack Hughes of Chalk Hill noted that the recent weather changes have been “interesting.”

“If you would draw a line along the Appalachian Mountains, everything to the east is still dry like Harrisburg and Philadelphia. In the mountains we are close to normal…in the west, Ohio and West Virginia they are ranging above normal (rainfall),” he said.

The area has received 19.93 inches of rain so far this year, compared to 18.3 inches by the end of May 2002, according to Hughes’ calculations.

Unfortunately for this area, Hughes said, the winter was sunny, windy and mostly devoid of snow. When combined with the heavy storms that fell then washed away, the ground water wasn’t able to replenish properly. With the recent long, slow, soaking rains, the ground finally can soak up the water, he said.

“Sure, we have made up what we lost in the drought, but it isn’t just precipitation alone. Snow over this past winter was almost nonexistent. You have to have snow and snow melt to slowly replenish the ground water,” Hughes said. “What snow we did have quickly dried up with sunny days and wind. When you have a lot of wind, it causes the water to evaporate upward and not into the soil, so the moisture went upward instead of collecting into the soil.”

Editor’s note: Herald-Standard Staff Writer Melissa Glisan contributed to this report.