OMAHA, Neb. – American farmers are experiencing a wide range of weather this spring, with drought for some and flooding for others across the Midwest affecting planting schedules and potentially destroying crops.April is a critical time of year for farmers in this part of the U.S., as the month is usually spent preparing the soil for planting crops.However, recent severe weather in the Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee valleys and severe drought in Nebraska and throughout the Corn Belt have hampered those plans.”Having these conversations in late March, the folks in Southern Ohio, I was talking to them and this was making them lose their lunch as they were talking about what their plans were in April,” said Andrew Pritchard, senior meteorologist with Nutrien Ag Solutions.Southern Ohio, along with Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois, experienced flooding last week as a stalled storm system drenched the region. That caused the Ohio River and other waterways to surge and devastate nearby areas with flooding.More than 10 inches of rain fell in about a week, according to Pritchard. This has oversaturated the soil and prevented many farmers from preparing their fields as planned, causing them to become even more behind schedule.Out west in Nebraska, some areas have experienced less than an inch of rain this season with no rain expected in the near future, Pritchard said. He noted that, should the region miss out on rain in late April and into May, the situation may become more tenuous for farmers.HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHERPritchard said it is too early to know how much this will impact crops, especially as the summer months will introduce more heat and dry weather. Many of these farms rely on irrigation, so having more moisture added to the soil and nearby reservoirs early in the growing season is critical.”We’re always kind of worried about heat and stress and what the drought impact could be as we get into the summer, and a lot of that hinges on what kind of moisture we get here in the spring to kind of set up a buffer in some of these areas,” Pritchard said. “Eyes are on things right now, and we’ll get a lot of questions answered over the next couple of months.”