Weather
Cool weather dominates the Heartland
Across the Corn Belt, cool, dry weather prevails, except for some lingering showers in the Great Lakes region. Tuesday morning’s temperatures fell to near 50° across the northern Corn Belt, where concerns persist with regard to crop developmental delays. Nevertheless, U.S. soybeans—72% good to excellent on July 13—have been rated higher this late in the season only once in the last two decades: 73% good to excellent on August 8, 2004.
On the Plains, unusually cool weather covers the north-central U.S., but showers are overspreading parts of Montana. Tuesday morning’s low temperatures locally dipped below 40°F in the Dakotas. Farther south, rain is returning to the southern Plains, further aiding rangeland, pastures, and summer crops.
In the South, a band of showers and thunderstorms—in the vicinity of a cold front—stretches from the central Appalachians into eastern Texas. Additional showers are scattered across Florida. The rain is beneficial for pastures and summer crops. On July 13, less than half of the pastures were rated good to excellent—mostly due to short-term dryness—in Kentucky, Virginia, and the Carolinas.
In the West, recent lightning strikes have sparked several wildfires in Oregon and neighboring areas. Hot, dry conditions persist in the Northwest. Meanwhile, monsoon shower activity has become more widespread in the Four Corners States, resulting in reduced irrigation requirements, revived rangelands, and drought relief.
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