Weather
Wet pattern expanding across the Heartland
Across the Corn Belt, cool weather prevails. In fact, frost and scattered freezes were noted Wednesday morning as far south as Wisconsin and Michigan. Meanwhile, wet weather has stalled fieldwork in the southwestern Corn Belt, following a quick start to the corn planting season. Isolated areas in the southern Corn Belt are recovering from Tuesday’s thunderstorms, some of which featured high winds and large hail.
On the Plains, cool, wet weather is halting fieldwork but boosting soil moisture. Some wet snow is falling in Montana and the western Dakotas. Even prior to this storm, there had been significant improvements in topsoil moisture. During the 2-week period ending April 24, topsoil moisture rated very short to short decreased from 60 to 18% in Kansas; 33 to 9% in Nebraska; 35 to 12% in North Dakota; and 50 to 28% in Montana.
In the South, showers and locally severe thunderstorms are moving into the lower Mississippi Valley and the western Gulf Coast region. Meanwhile, Southeastern warmth favors fieldwork and crop development.
In the West, very cool conditions persist. In addition, showery weather lingers in several areas, including the Great Basin and Pacific Northwest. Northwestern winter wheat continues to benefit from abundant moisture reserves and is currently rated 88% in good to excellent condition in Idaho, along with 83% in Washington.
Forecast High Temperatures (National)
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