As Sunday evening approached in Moody County, local rancher Jim Thomas worked against the clock to get hay baled before pending storms hit. With dark skies looming to the north and a severe thunderstorm watch in place, a stunning sunset painted a dramatic backdrop while high winds and the threat of rain intensified the urgency.
The hay, freshly cut and rowed ahead of the pending storms, had already been exposed to a significant amount of moisture, and with the humidity still high, the hays moisture content was above the ideal level for baling.
But if it wasnt baled, the rain and high winds could have potentially ruined the crop, leaving him and others in the same situation, with less feed for cattle and horses in the coming months a situation playing out time and again this summer with frequent storms moving through.
To the north Sunday evening, severe storms were otherwise already making their mark, producing a tornado that caused significant damage around Watertown, marking the second series of strong, tornado-producing storms in recent weeks.
