A winter storm through portions of the southern US Plains has produced approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) of liquid moisture and caused wheat futures to tumble on speculation that the improved weather will save some crops. Substantial portions of hard red winter wheat crop in the region were forecast to be damaged as approximately one fifth of the state of Kansas suffered from extreme drought until very recently, while 35% of Oklahoma was similarly affected. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a Winter Storm Watch for parts of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
A winter storm through portions of the southern US Plains has produced approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) of liquid moisture and caused wheat futures to tumble on speculation that the improved weather will save some crops. Substantial portions of hard red winter wheat crop in the region were forecast to be damaged as approximately one fifth of the state of Kansas suffered from extreme drought until very recently, while 35% of Oklahoma was similarly affected. News of the precipitation sent May hard red winter wheat futures down almost 6%.