Weather
Warm temperatures help Corn Belt crops
Across the Corn Belt, above-normal temperatures continue to benefit late-developing summer crops. On August 31, corn reaching the denting stage of development was 13 percentage points behind the respective 5-year state averages in Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—and 21 points behind average in North Dakota. Elsewhere, clusters of thunderstorms are developing west of the Mississippi River.
On the Plains, cooler air is arriving in Montana. Elsewhere, hot, mostly dry weather is hastening crop maturation and promoting fieldwork. Today’s highs will exceed 100°F as far north as the central High Plains.
In the South, a few showers associated with the outer rain bands of Tropical Depression Dolly are grazing southern Texas. Meanwhile in the Southeast, hot, humid, showery weather prevails. Southeastern rainfall is beneficial, except with respect to harvest operations and other fieldwork. On August 31, topsoil moisture was rated more than half very short to short in Georgia (65%) and Alabama (58%).
In the West, isolated showers are limited to the northern Rockies. In addition, much cooler air is overspreading the Northwest. Meanwhile, hot, dry weather from California to the central and southern Rockies is favoring fieldwork and crop development, but boosting irrigation demands.
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