Water math for a Southern Illinois corn crop.
Inches of rain we are behind in this drought: 14 inches for the year.
Gallons of water needed to produce 1 bushel of corn per acre: 4,000 US Gallons (some say more some say less but we will use this number)
Gallons of water needed per acre to raise 150 bushel corn: 600,000 US Gallons per acre
Gallons of water in a 1 inch rain fall per acre: 27,154 US Gallons
Gallons of water in 14 inches of rain: 380,156 US Gallons per acre
Inches of water needed to reach our current growth stage (~R1): 13 inches of water per acre or 353002 gallons of water per acre (University of Nebraska Irrigation Guide To Corn)
Inches of water needed to finish the crop out to maturity: 16 inches of rain per acre or 434,464 gallons of water per acre. (University of Nebraska Irrigation Guide to Corn)
Rainfall predicted in inches for the next 5 days: 0.25-0.5 inch of rain (NWS Hydrometeorological Prediction Center)
Gallons of water in a 0.5 inch rain: 13,577 US Gallons
A half inch rain is hardly a drop in the bucket when your dry like we are and a flood when you saturated.
But I would gladly take a half inch rain right now……………..gladly.
The old saying: ignorance is bliss might be a good thing in this situation.