Weather
Harvest delays apparent
Across the Corn Belt, cloudy, showery, chilly weather is hampering fieldwork in the lower Great Lakes region. In contrast, warm, dry weather prevails in the western Corn Belt. On October 19, the corn harvest ranged from 9 to 34 percentage points behind the respective 5-year state averages in the Corn Belt, while the soybean harvest ranged from 12 to 37 points behind average in all Midwestern States except Minnesota and the Dakotas.
On the Plains, dry weather accompanies unusual warmth. The warm weather, which favors summer crop maturation and winter wheat emergence and establishment, will lead to high temperatures later Tuesday above 80° as far north as portions of the northern High Plains.
In the South, a few showers linger across southern Florida. Elsewhere, mild, dry weather is promoting an acceleration of harvest activities in areas where recent downpours had halted fieldwork. Lingering effects of the wetness include a degradation of cotton quality in Arkansas, where 27% of the cotton crop was rated in very poor to poor condition on October 19—up from just 5% on October 5.
In the West, scattered showers stretch from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies. Elsewhere, mild, dry weather is ideal for autumn fieldwork. In California, half of the cotton and 57% of the rice was harvested during the 2-week period ending on October 19.
Forecast High Temperatures (National)
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