Planting Weather Forecast: Rain Off and On Through Most of Week

Dry weather holds over Michigan to start the weekend on Saturday, but scattered showers come across Lake Michigan out of Wisconsin on Sunday and will bring some precipitation to central and southern lower Michigan through the day.

Rain totals are not that impressive but may be from a few hundredths to half an inch. An additional batch of moisture works up into the state on Monday as a frontal boundary passes, and then in far southern lower Michigan showers hold on through the first part of Tuesday. Rain from the Monday-Tuesday period will be 0.25”-1” with coverage at 75% over Lower Michigan. We likely don’t see much of anything in the UP.

Dry Wednesday, but we have scattered light showers back for Thursday with rain totals of a few hundredths to 0.4” and coverage at no better than 60% of the state. Then we turn dry again for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and early next Monday to finish the 10 day forecast period. The map below shows combined 10 day moisture for the state, and this is just a product of our on and off rains now through Thursday.

Extended Period:

A few scattered showers will be around Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, but nothing well organized and nothing with more than a 30% coverage potential. Next Thursday we have a weak system moving through that can bring 0.25”-1” over 80% of lower Michigan. We are dry for next Friday, but then see showers for Saturday, June 18 and a significant system with rain and thunderstorms for Sunday, June 19. Rain totals combined for that weekend will be 0.5”-1.5” and coverage at 80% of the entire state, lower Michigan and the UP.

Weeks 3 & 4:

A drier turn is in store for the weeks 3 and 4 forecasts. We will be below normal both weeks. We do not see a significant issue with temperatures, though, as we stay near to even slightly below normal over both weeks in the eastern corn belt.

Week 3 Precipitation (Green = above normal, Brown = below)