Weather
Record-heat abates on the central Plains
Across the Corn Belt, cool, breezy weather has replaced unusual warmth. Residual lowland flooding in the eastern Corn Belt, including the Ohio Valley, is slowly subsiding under favorably dry conditions.
On the Plains, cooler weather prevails in the wake of a cold front’s passage. On March 16, monthly record high temperatures were tied or broken in Nebraska locations such as Norfolk (92°) and North Platte (91°). Clouds are thickening across the southern Plains in advance of an approaching storm system.
In the South, a few rain showers are developing across southern Texas, mainly in the Rio Grande Valley. Elsewhere, warm, dry weather prevails. However, fieldwork remains behind schedule in many areas due to previously cool, wet conditions. In Louisiana, for example, corn and rice planting was not yet underway by March 15, compared to 5-year averages of 20 and 9%, respectively.
In the West, scattered rain and snow showers dot the northern Rockies and environs. Farther south, record-setting warmth persists from California to the Intermountain West, prematurely melting mountain snowpack.
Forecast High Temperatures (National)
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