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Deluge puts Upper Midwest crops under water

The storm system that spawned tornadoes in Nebraska Monday produced torrents of rain in southeastern South Dakota.  Lincoln County farmer Jim Jibben told Brownfield on Monday, before the downpour, that he had had just enough precipitation.  Shortly after that call the weather took a turn.

“From 3:30 to 7:00 last night we had 6.5 inches,” Jibben told Brownfield Tuesday.  “Then still before the evening was over, we had an additional 1.5 inches, so we had eight inches of rain just in a very short period of time.”

The result is that corn that looked very good Monday is now standing in water.  Jibben says it remains to be seen whether the crop can come back from the deluge.

“We definitely took a couple of steps back and time will tell, I guess, but it’s too bad that we had just too much too quick,” he said.

The forecast called for more rain in that area about 48 hours after the cloudburst.

AUDIO: Jim Jibben (2 min. MP3)