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Very cold weather holds across the Heartland

On the Plains, dry weather prevails, except for some light snow in the vicinity of an Arctic front draped across eastern Nebraska and neighboring areas. Mild, breezy weather on the High Plains contrasts with frigid conditions in the eastern Dakotas. Tuesday morning’s temperatures fell to near -20° in the Red River Valley, along the North Dakota-Minnesota border.

Across the Corn Belt, bitterly cold, breezy weather is increasing livestock stress. Tuesday morning’s low temperatures generally ranged from 0 to -20° in the upper Midwest. Precipitation is confined to the middle Missouri Valley, where some light snow is falling, and areas downwind of the Great Lakes.

In the South, cool, dry weather prevails, but this morning’s temperatures remained well above freezing in Florida. However, recent rainfall has largely bypassed the southern Atlantic region, maintaining heavy irrigation demands in Florida’s winter agricultural belt.

In the West, cool conditions are confined to the Northwest, where dense fog is causing some travel disruptions. Throughout the region—and especially in the Southwest—the lack of January precipitation is increasing concerns with respect to sub-par snow packs and summer water supplies.