It’s not often that people in Kingfisher County hope it doesn’t rain.

But that’s the situation now with the start of wheat harvest.

Light harvesting began last weekend and picked up speed on Monday before rain started falling on Tuesday, bringing harvest to an abrupt halt.

Farmers were hoping for sunshine and breezes late in the week to dry out soil and allow equipment back on the fields but the weather forecast called for a return of showers Friday night.

The forecast called for partly sunny skies on Saturday with a slight chance of showers on Sunday night.

Rainfall amounts from the Tuesday showers ranged from a half inch at Hennessey to about 1.5 inches in the Kingfisher area.

Randall Varnell, manager of the Wheeler Brothers Elevator in Kingfisher, said that harvest might resume by the weekend if clear weather returns but noted the forecast calls for more rain on the weekend.

He said it’s possible the recent rains might not hurt the developing wheat crop because many fields were still a little green when the rain fell but added “that’s just a guess.”

Varnell said many fields were still muddy when the first harvesting attempts were made.

John Schaefer, manager of the Cashion Grain and Feed Elevator, said harvesting in that area had just begun when the new rains arrived.

He also said it will take some dry weather for harvesters to begin working in the Cashion area.

The Cashion Elevator recorded an inch of moisture.

Only an additional half inch was reported at Okarche Grain and Feed Elevator, west of Okarche.

Harvest had begun there last weekend with test weights running in the 60-pounds-per-bushel range and up and with extremely good protein levels, as required by some specialty bakers.

Other county rainfall amounts included:

Dover – .7 inch at the Rick and Robin Johnston residence, northwest of Dover.

Kingfisher – 1.35 at the Mesonet site on the Mueggenborg farm, west of Kingfisher, 1.47 inches at the National Weather Service Station in Kingfisher; 1.5 inches at the Twila Adams residence, east of Kingfisher.

Okarche – 1.5 inches at the Mike and Donna Reid residence, northwest of Okarche.

Omega – reports of up to two inches in the area around CHS Elevator.

“It will be a few days before we can start cutting again,” a spokesman said.

A little shower came through the Omega area shortly before noon on Thursday.

Early harvesting in the Omega area resulted in good test weights and protein content with still no information on yields.

Harvesting had just begun throughout the CHS cooperative areas when the rain started and all areas were awaiting sunshine to resume harvesting.

The Mesonet rainfall map for Oklahoma showed heaviest rainfall from Tuesday’s rain in the western and southwestern sections of the state with Butler topping the list at 7.20 inches.

Other Mesonet rainfall amounts included: Watonga, 3.25 inches; El Reno, 1.62 inches; Yukon, 1.43 inches; Guthrie, .68 inch; Marshall, .62 inch; Weatherford, 4.85 inches; Hinton, 2.72 inches; Minco, 1.51 inches; Tipton, 4.98 inches; Woodward, 2.25 inches; Altus, 4.17 inches, and Hollis, 2.22 inches.

The rain boosted pasture grasses, lawns and gardens.