A benefit of active weather throughout the summer is a greater opportunity to replenish river levels on the Mississippi River.
Trent Ford, Illinois State Climatologist, says that, unlike in years past, the river is not approaching problematic levels going into harvest that would restrict barge traffic.
“Dry falls in the last few years have added to deficits in the summer, making for very low levels on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers that have challenged barge traffic and reduced the flow of grain out of the region,” says Ford. “Because of how much rain there has been in the Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio River basins, we’re likely not dealing with that issue. Even if we go pretty dry over the next couple of weeks to maybe a month or so, we’d still see adequate levels on the Mississippi to get barge traffic through.”
About half of all U.S. corn, soybean, and wheat exports move through the Mississippi River each year.
