A large swath of northeast Yuma County has been devastated by two major hail storms over the course of about 10 days.
The first storm visited during the evening of Wednesday, June 28, hours before a violent storm rolled through Yuma in the early morning of June 29.
The hail damage north of Eckley and Wray was significant. Some decided to replant their crops in hopes of getting something out of the growing season.
However, another severe hail storm visited the region last Saturday afternoon, July 8.
Mark Oestman said the family farming operation lost several irrigated circles of corn, amounting to about half of the operation’s corn acres. He said an adjustor would be assessing the damage later this week, adding that it is best to hope for 100-percent loss.
“With 100 percent at least you know what you have,” Oestman said.
Oestman has driven through the impacted area since last Saturday afternoon. He said that it appears to him that nearly everything from the Wages Volunteer Fire Department, located on Yuma County Road 57 between county roads T and U, to the Wauneta Volunteer Fire Department, located by Highway 385 at County Road 50, has been totally lost to hail.
The CoAgMet weather station located north of Wray at Lenz Family Farm, shows 4.18 inches of rain has fallen since June 27, including 1.75 over the last four days of June, and 2.43 inches to date in July, including 1.31 with last Saturday’s storm. More rain visited this past Monday afternoon, dumping 0.64 of an inch.
“It seems like this year it’s just a pattern” Oestman said.
And it was mostly a welcome pattern until the hail started showing up in recent weeks.
