Heavy rain and localized flooding eyed on the Texas High Plains. Up to 8.02 inches fell in a 96-hour period southwest of Lubbock. Insect pressure mostly light but bollworm alert issued.

Cotton futures skidded to a new intraday low and new low settlement for the move for the second straight session Tuesday as benchmark December traded below unchanged throughout the day.

December settled down 66 points at 66.29 cents, in the upper half of its 147-point range from down two points at 66.93 to down 149 points at 65.46 cents. It fell below lows of the prior seven weeks and closed at a new low finish since July 8.

Ongoing strength in the U.S. dollar index, which was up 0.515 to 96.060 around the time of the cotton close, and weakness in oil and other commodities contributed to pressure on the fiber crop.

Volume rose to an estimated 23,344 lots from 16,940 lots the previous session when spreads accounted for 3,392 lots or 10% and EFP four lots. Options volume totaled 4,542 calls and 9,012 puts.

Forecasters say additional heavy rain and localized flooding are likely through midweek on the Texas High Plains with chances for thunderstorms lingering into the weekend.

Most areas as well as the northern Rolling Plains may get rains totaling an inch to 3 inches Tuesday and Wednesday. However, forecasters add, isolated downpours may dump several inches or more within an hour.

The area of largest rainfall and flooding is expected to be in the western South Plains. Seminole in Gaines southwest of Lubbock already has registered 8.02 inches in the 96-hour period to midmorning Tuesday, according to a West Texas Mesonet reading.

Twenty-eight of the 38 reporting sites of the National Weather Service got mostly 0.30 of an inch to 3.65 inches in the 24-hour period to 8 a.m. Tuesday. Denver City in Yoakum County got the most and Morton in Cochran County was next with 2.68 inches. Both are in the western area.

Selective 96-hour Mesonet totals showed 1.24 inches at Abernathy, 2.6 inches at Amherst, 5.39 at Andrews, 1.7 at Anton, 1.8 at Brownfield, 5.78 at Denver City, 1.73 at Dimmitt, 2.12 at Floydada, 1.63 at Friona, 3.65 at Hart, 2.19 at Hereford, 2.48 at Lamesa, 1.63 at Levelland, 5.28 at Morton, 3.4 at Muleshoe, 1.75 at OΆDonnell, 3.87 at Plains, 1.63 at Plainview, 3.25 at Seagraves, 2.23 at Sundown, 2.49 at Tulia, 2.26 at Vigo Park, 2.42 at Welch and 1.1 at Wolfforth.

Lubbock got 0.37 of an inch overnight to hike the August total to 1.73 inches, against the normal of 1.77 inches. Since June 1, Lubbock has recorded 3.35 inches, compared with 6.36 inches last year and the normal of 6.72 inches. Precipitation since Jan. 1 has totaled 8.62 inches, 4.31 inches below normal.

Insect pressure remains light in most areas with cotton ranging from five nodes above white flower to hard cutout, says Shuas Vyavhare, area extension entomologist at Lubbock.

But with corn and sorghum maturing, increased bollworm movement from corn into cotton may be seen in the next few weeks, he said in a report.

“Once cotton plants have an average of three nodes or fewer remaining above the uppermost first position white bloom or when the upper bolls that will be harvested have become difficult to cut with a pocket knife, they are normally safe from bollworm injury,” he said.

Futures open interest edged up 462 lots Monday to 228,944, with DecemberΆs down 433 lots to 155,994 and MarchΆs up 564 lots to 46,724. Certified stocks declined 3,580 bales to 44,033. There were 270 newly certified bales and 3,850 bales decertified.