Rain is soaking south Central Nebraska, bringing an inch or more of rain throughout the area with rainy and possibly snowy conditions forecast through the weekend.

The National Weather Service in Hastings reported area rainfall mounts as of this morning:

— Grand Island airport, 0.80 of an inch.

— Hastings airport, 0.94 of an inch.

— Kearney airport, 0.71 of an inch.

— Aurora airport, 0.75 of an inch.

— Greeley, 0.63 of an inch.

— Loup City, 1.12 inches.

— Ord airport, 0.80 of an inch.

— Osceola, 0.57 of an inch.

— Wolbach, 0.75 of an inch.

— Wood River, 0.94 of an inch.

As of this morning, Grand Island has had 1.34 inches of rain for March. Average March precipitation is 2.04 inches.

Much of south Central Nebraska, including Grand Island, remains under a flood watch until later tonight, according the National Weather Service in Hastings.

With rain continuing through the day and into tonight, the flood potential is enhanced as soils are saturated and the ground is frozen in many locations, increasing the likelihood of heavy runoff into streams and creeks.

In addition, the National Weather Service reported that ice jams are still occurring along some area rivers and streams, amplifying flooding in some areas.

But much of the potential flooding will be minor and located on lowlands near creeks and streams and low-lying rural areas. The National Weather Service reports that the lower Loup River basin downstream of St. Paul has an enhanced risk of flooding due to the combination of ice jams and rainfall runoff.

A flood warning remains in effect for the Loup River near Genoa in Nance County. At 6:15 a.m., the river stage was 9.3 feet. Flood stage is 9 feet. Minor flooding is forecast as the river is expected to rise to nearly 9.4 feet by early Wednesday afternoon, with the river falling below flood stage by early Friday afternoon. The National Weather Service said the flooding is caused by a combination of ice action in the river, thawing ice and rain runoff.

Rain will continue through the weekend, though the heaviest precipitation is expected to end tonight, but temperatures will be cooler.

On Wednesday, there’s a 30 percent chance of rain with a high near 42 degrees. On Wednesday night, there’s a chance of rain before midnight, then a chance of rain and snow as the low is expected to be around 31 degrees.

There’s a chance of rain and snow Thursday with a high near 41 degrees. It will be breezy, with a north wind between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. There’s also a chance of rain and snow Thursday night with a low around 30.

There’s a chance of rain and snow Friday before noon with a high of near 41 degrees. The weekend looks to be precipitation-free with highs in the upper 40s Saturday and the low 50s Sunday.

Calving season is under way, and the wet, cool weather and muddy conditions have added a degree of difficulty for producers. The wet conditions are also hampering feedlot conditions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported recently that cattle and calves condition were rated 0 percent very poor, 4 percent poor, 27 percent fair, 67 percent good and 2 percent excellent, below last year. Calving progressed to 23 percent complete.

According to Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute, harnessing of solar energy is expanding on every front as concerns about climate change and energy security escalate, as government incentives for harnessing solar energy expand, and as these costs decline while those of fossil fuels rise.

Brown said one solar technology that is really beginning to take off is the use of solar thermal collectors to convert sunlight into heat that can be used to warm both water and space.

Using China as an example, Brown said it’s now home to 27 million rooftop solar water heaters.

“With nearly 4,000 Chinese companies manufacturing these devices, this relatively simple low-cost technology has leapfrogged into villages that do not yet have electricity,” Brown said.  ”For as little as $200, villagers can have a rooftop solar collector installed and take their first hot shower.”

He said the technology is sweeping China like wildfire, already approaching market saturation in some communities. Beijing plans to boost the current 114 million square meters of rooftop solar collectors for heating water to 300 million by 2020.

Brown said the energy harnessed by these installations in China is equal to the electricity generated by 49 coal-fired power plants.

“Other developing countries such as India and Brazil may also soon see millions of households turning to this inexpensive water heating technology.” he said. ”This leapfrogging into rural areas without an electricity grid is similar to the way cell phones bypassed the traditional fixed-line grid, providing services to millions of people who would still be on waiting lists if they had relied on traditional phone lines. Once the initial installment cost of rooftop solar water heaters is paid, the hot water is essentially free.”

Ted Schroeder, a Kansas State University agricultural economist, said to feed a world population projected to exceed 9 billion people by 2050, technology that can enhance food production will be a significant asset.

 Schroeder, university distinguished professor of agricultural economics, said dramatically increased food prices around the world in recent years, social unrest over food scarcity in countries like Argentina, Bangladesh, Egypt, Mozambique and many others — combined with a growing world population — are raising the question what will it take to feed the world’s population 40 years from now.

Schroeder said that technology isn’t a magic wand to make these problems disappear, but it can contribute significantly to increasing food production. He cited how Iowa’s corn yields sped past Italy’s when Iowa farmers embraced yield-enhancing, genetically modified corn varieties that have been shunned by Italy and much of the European Union.

 ”It shows so starkly what technology can do to increase food production with the same fixed resource base,” Schroeder said. “Technology discovery, technology development and technology adoption are huge in terms of food prices, who will produce the food and how we’re going to feed the world.”

 Genetically modifying crops certainly isn’t a new technology, Schroeder said, but advanced abilities for DNA gene mapping — especially in animal populations — is a promising area of development.

 ”Any technology that increases our ability to understand and predict how an animal or plant is likely to react to a stimulus or environmental factor, or technology that targets managing specific food product attributes produced from crops and livestock, is going to make a substantial difference in providing affordable, high-quality, safe food to the growing base of global consumers,” Schroeder said.

Seven states with the country’s highest obesity rates are in the South, but this issue that causes health problems such as diabetes and heart conditions cannot be blamed simply on Southern roots.

A study by the Southern Rural Development Center headquartered at Mississippi State University found that simply living in a region does not lead to obesity. In “The South Does Not Make You Fat: A study of nutrition, food security and obesity,” researchers found that minorities and lower-income groups have higher obesity rates.

“They find that the likelihood of being overweight or obese does not significantly differ across regions of the country after accounting for income, age, race-ethnicity and education,” the report stated.

The authors analyzed data from the Deep South — Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina. They found that body mass index, or BMI, and obesity rates were higher in the Deep South than elsewhere, but these differences disappeared once factors such as age, income and race-ethnicity were considered.

“Low income, for example, is a better predictor of being overweight or obese for women than living in the South, as is being black or Hispanic,” the report stated. “The Deep South, in particular, has higher minority populations and more low income individuals than other regions of the country.”