CHICAGO-Freezing temperatures next week could threaten soft red winter wheat in about 10 percent of the U.S. Midwest crop belt, where a recent warm spell advanced the crop's development, an agricultural meteorologist said.
The coldest air should arrive early Wednesday and Thursday in southern Indiana, southern Ohio and northern Kentucky, with temperatures dropping into the upper teens, said David Streit, a meteorologist with the Commodity Weather Group.
"That would get you some threshold damage in that region, which encompasses about 10 percent of the national soft red wheat area," Streit said.
Following an unusually warm February, crops in the Ohio River Valley are developing ahead of normal, leaving them vulnerable to cold weather. Soft red winter wheat, used to make cookies and crackers, loses its winter hardiness as it resumes growth in the spring.
One to 2 inches of snowfall expected in the region on Tuesday might not offer much insulation.
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"The thing I am worried about is that you get a little bit of snow, and all that does is enhance the cooling and does little to protect the crop," Streit said.
Temperatures are expected to moderate after next week.
