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Storms that swept through Rock County and the tri-state area Saturday night left downed trees, damaged crops and property, and wet basements.
Hills, Beaver Creek, Steen and Luverne all had downed trees, some of them large, and some fell on vehicles and buildings.
A large maple tree in Roger Tollefson’s backyard on Northview Drive in Luverne split down the middle, and half of it fell toward the back side of his house.
“I started picking up sticks the next morning when I let the dogs out,” he said. “But then I noticed my big tree was down.”
It landed on the back patio deck, damaging the railing. “I didn’t know the extent of the damage until daylight the next morning,” Tollefson said.
Similar stories are shared on social media around the region, and there were reports of machine sheds damaged east of Hills and in the Steen area.
Brian Fick of Kozlowski Insurance, Luverne, has been responding to crop loss inquiries.
“It’s very spotty,” he said of Saturday’s storm damage. “There’s lodged corn, some hail damage to soybeans, and soybeans lodged as well.”
He said fields in the Hills and Beaver Creek areas were hardest hit, as well as those southwest of Luverne. However, he won’t know the extent of damage and the number of acres affected for several weeks.
“The big thing is going to be the harvestability of crops,” Fick said about the lodged corn and soybeans. “It will be a matter of trying to get it into the combine or chopper — some of it is pretty close to the ground.”
For the stalks lying closest to the ground, he said moisture may an issue at harvest time for those ears of corn that may not dry in time.
Rain amounts varied around Rock County and the region, with the heavier amounts — over six inches — reported in the Hills and Beaver Creek area.
Luverne and Magnolia had over 3 inches, Hardwick had 2 inches and Jasper and areas south of Jasper had 4 inches.
Fields in the northwestern parts of Rock County have been particularly dry, so the moisture was a welcome relief for drought-weary fields in that area.
Local agronomists are telling their clients that Saturday’s rain won’t make a big difference for the corn crop, but soybeans that are still green may see pods fill in more
As of Thursday, portions of Rock County were still in “severe drought” according to the North American Drought Monitor.
Central Rock County was in “moderate drought,” and southeastern Rock County was considered “abnormally dry.”
Crop experts are saying yield predictions will be difficult this harvest season, given variability of growing conditions in the region. The latest predictions on Aug. 27 did not account for Saturday’s rain.
The next USDA Crop Report will be released on Sept. 10 and will be based on crop conditions as of Sept. 1. This report will include actual field survey data in the yield and production estimates.