Weather
Contrasting soil moisture levels in the Corn Belt
Across the Corn Belt, precipitation—heaviest in the Ohio Valley—is scattered across the region. Soils remain dry in the upper Midwest, while wet conditions persist in parts of the southern and eastern Corn Belt. Meanwhile, cool conditions in the northern Corn Belt contrast with mild weather across the southern tier of the region.
On the Plains, warm, dry, windy conditions are maintaining stress on winter wheat in many areas from Kansas southward. Farther north, cool weather accompanies beneficial showers. On April 5, one-fifth to one-third of the winter wheat was rated very poor to poor in Nebraska (30%), South Dakota (27%), and Kansas (23%).
In the South, widespread showers and thunderstorms are limiting fieldwork. Some of the heaviest precipitation is falling in Kentucky, where heavy rain also fell on April 2-3. However, mostly dry weather prevails along and near the Gulf Coast, allowing planting activities to proceed. In Louisiana, for example, 40% of the intended rice acreage was planted during the week ending April 5—with overall progress advancing to 63% complete.
In the West, northern and central California’s most significant storm system in two months is moving ashore. Precipitation associated with the storm is boosting topsoil moisture and easing irrigation demands, but providing minimal hydrological relief from California’s long-term drought. Cool weather dominates the West, except for lingering warm, windy conditions in the southern Rockies.
Forecast High Temperatures (National)
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