Weather
Cool weather persists across much of the Corn Belt
Across the Corn Belt, cool, dry weather prevails. Tuesday morning’s temperatures fell to near 40° in parts of the far upper Midwest. Temperatures and moisture conditions remain mostly favorable for filling summer crops.
On the Plains, dry weather favors summer crop maturation and fieldwork, including spring wheat harvesting in Montana and the Dakotas. Late-season heat is expanding across the High Plains, where Tuesday’s temperatures could approach the 100-degree mark as far north as eastern Montana.
In the South, a cold front has brought cool, dry air to most areas, although warm, humid conditions and a few showers linger in the western Gulf Coast region and along the southern Atlantic Coast. During the week ending August 23, topsoil moisture rated very short to short improved at least 10 percentage points in Louisiana (from 82 to 59% very short to short), Mississippi (from 69 to 43%), Arkansas (from 49 to 34%), Alabama (from 39 to 29%), and Tennessee (from 28 to 15%).
In the West, a monsoon-related surge of moisture is producing cloudiness and scattered showers in Arizona and environs. Elsewhere, hot, dry weather is promoting fieldwork and crop development, but maintaining heavy irrigation demands for immature crops. Northwestern wildfires continue to degrade air quality and threaten several communities. Near Omak, Washington, the Okanogan Complex—a conglomeration of five fires—has become the largest wildfire in state history, having already charred nearly 260,000 acres of vegetation.
Forecast High Temperatures (National)
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