Colder weather may threaten 15 percent of US Midwest wheat - forecaster

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Frigid temperatures in the U.S. Midwest this week posed a slight risk of freeze damage to about 15 percent of the region's soft red winter wheat crop, primarily in parts of Missouri and Illinois, a forecaster said on Wednesday. * "Northeastern Missouri into southern and central Illinois will be on the edge of this cold air and could get a little bit of winterkill," said Joel Widenor, a meteorologist with the Commodity Weather Group. * "Overall, it's not going to be a serious threat because we have got so much snow cover in place," Widenor said. The snow should protect dormant wheat in the coldest areas, including northern Illinois and Indiana. * Below-normal temperatures are expected in the Midwest for the next 10 days, with temperatures in Chicago seen dropping to minus 7 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 22 Celsius) by Thursday. * Temperatures should moderate slightly this weekend but another cold push is expected in the first half of next week. * There was no threat of winter kill in the southern Plains hard red winter wheat belt, Widenor said. * The Plains should remain dry for the next week to 10 days, but there is a slight chance of showers in the 11- to 15-day period, in the first week of February. * In South America, much-needed rains are expected to continue in crop areas of Argentina through tomorrow. Combined with showers in recent days, Widenor said three-quarters of the country's corn and soy belt will have received half an inch of rain. * Forecasting models show better agreement of rains expected in Argentina late next week and the following week. "It is a wetter outlook in that six- to 15-day time frame," Widenor said. * Conditions in Brazil are mostly favorable but dryness is starting to expand in eastern Mato Grosso do Sul and northern and central Parana. (Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)