Avoyelles weathers stormy weather

By Raymond L. Daye

    A heavy thunderstorm last Wednesday, hard on the heels of a severe storm a few days earlier and  several daily rains over the previous week, resulted in flood warnings being issued for Avoyelles Parish and several other parishes along the Red River and Sabine River. 
    Rain measurements from around the parish put the amount of rainfall after Wednesday's storm at between .7 of an inch to just over an inch.  Totals for the previous Monday ranged from 1.1 to 2.1 inches. There was about a half inch on May 23.  
A WET MONTH
    Johnny Gauthier, a weather-watcher for KLIL Radio, said the parish has been drenched with 8.4 inches of rain through this past Thursday.  That compares to a 10-year average of 4.57 for May. However, Gauthier noted, this rainfall total continues a trend of wet Mays. There was 7.9 inches of rain in May 2013 and 8.9 inches in May 2014.
    The annual total through this past Thursday was 35.5 inches. The parish had received 25.5 inches by May 28 last year.
    “We have received over half of what we had all of last year, which was 64.15 inches,” Gauthier said.
    Police Jury President Charles Jones said the major problem the parish has endured from the recent heavy rains has been the delay to its road and bridge maintenance programs.
    “There are three or four roads that are near a critical stage due to the recent weather events,” Jones said, “but the main thing is that we are getting behind on our maintenance programs. We are hoping for some dry days in the next few weeks that will enable us to catch up.”
    Marksville City Manager Tommy Garrot said city employees were out picking up a lot of branches Wednesday afternoon, but the city had nowhere near the problems it had with the storm that tore through on May 23. He said water covered some city streets during the height of the Wednesday storm, “but it drained off pretty quickly.”
    The May 23 storm knocked down trees and limbs. Areas of town were without electricity for hours.
    Among those left in the dark was the Paragon Casino. As those who play the slots know, a power outage at the wrong time could cost the player a jackpot win. A casino is not responsible for “machine malfunctions.”
No word from the casino on any such unlucky winner in this case.
 
PLANTING DELAYED
    The rains came at just about the exact wrong time for the parish’s sweet potato farmers. This is generally the heart of the planting season, but when it is too wet for equipment to get into the fields planting comes to a standstill.
    Normally, about 60-70 percent of the sweet potato fields in south Louisiana AND 20-25 percent of those in North Louisiana would be planted by now.  
    Adam Newton, of Newton Produce in Bunkie, said they managed to get about half of their acreage planted before the recent stormy weather. They are hoping to have between 350-400 acres in sweet potatoes this year.
    “We don’t know what effect it will have on the yield,” Newton said. “We don’t think it will affect it, but we will have to wait and see. It has affected our planting.”
    Sweet potatoes are grown from plant cuttings, not seed. Growers plant seed potatoes in late February and March and then make cuttings from the sprouts. Those cuttings are transplanted into the fields during the spring.
    Newton said that part of the crop that has been planted could be affected “if we can’t get in there to take out the grass. The plants may not be weed-free. If we can’t get in the field to take out the grass, the grass will grow and it is harder to get rid of the longer it grows.”
Planting and weed control can get back on track with just a few dry days, Newton said. 
    “We like to be all planted by mid-June,” he said. “A couple of days with no rain would allow us to get back into the field. We can get a lot done in one week of good weather. We may be able to have at least 85 percent done by mid-June and then get the remaining 15 percent the next week.”
     Newton said predictions of probably thunderstorms today aren’t as much as source of concern as maybe they should be.
    “They have been just terrible on the weather projections,” Newton said. “They predict 80 percent chance when you go to sleep and you wake up and they are saying its 20 percent.
    “It’s hard to create a game plan when you don’t have a reliable weather forecast,” Newton continued. “To most, a bad forecast means they forgot their umbrella at home. When you’re whole day revolves around the weather, a good forecast makes a difference.”
     County Agent Justin Dufour said the rains have also affected other crops in the parish.
    “Wheat harvest has halted and what’s left is losing quality fast with the heavy rain received recently,” Dufour said. “Late soybean planting correlates with the inability to harvest wheat in double-cropped fields. Recent flooding has shown effect on grain sorghum and soybeans in some fields.”
    The National Agricultural Statistics Service in Louisiana reported there was 2.4 days suitable for field work the week of May 18-24.