Soil moisture levels remained slightly above normal in the middle of June in Illinois, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) Program Manager at the Prairie Research Institute, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

On June 15, soil moisture levels at 2 inches averaged 0.29 water fraction by volume (wfv) in Illinois, 9 percent above normal for the day and 2 percent less than May 15. This is a marked increase from the values of a year ago when soil moisture averaged 0.17 wfv, only slightly above the wilting point for most soils monitored.

Moisture levels were highest in southern Illinois with an average level of 0.33 wfv or 16 percent above normal.

Similar trends were seen at depths of 20 inches where soil moisture averaged 0.40 wfv, 8 percent above normal and 3 percent below the May 15 average. Moisture levels were 67 percent above the average from 2012.

Soil temperatures averaged 75.4° F at 4 inches under bare soil, 0.2° below normal for the day. Temperatures are lower than those from last year when soil temperatures averaged 79.6°F.

On the Plains, thundershowers are providing some additional drought relief across central and southern areas. However, the storms have also resulted in local wind and hail damage on the central and southern High Plains. Meanwhile on the northern High Plains, warm, dry weather is promoting late-season planting efforts.

Across the Corn Belt, significant precipitation is confined to the Ohio Valley, although isolated showers dot areas west of the Mississippi River. By June 16, more than one-fifth of the soybeans had not yet been sown in Missouri (70% planted), Wisconsin (72%), and Iowa (77%).

In the South, widespread showers and thunderstorms extend from Texas to the central and souther Appalachians, slowing fieldwork but maintaining abundant moisture reserves for pastures and summer crops.

In the West, beneficial showers are developing across the interior Northwest, where crop conditions have been declining in recent weeks. On June 16, more than one-third (34%) of Oregon’s winter wheat was rated very poor to poor, while nearly one-quarter (24%) of Washington’s spring wheat was rated very poor to poor. Meanwhile, cooler air is overspreading California, but hot weather persists in parts of the Southwest.

On the Plains, an active weather pattern prevails across southern areas. A line of thunderstorms, which earlier produced local wind and hail damage, is moving across northeastern Texas and eastern portions of Kansas and Oklahoma. Meanwhile, cool but dry weather favors late-season planting efforts on the northern Plains.

Across the Corn Belt, cool weather covers the northern tier of the region, in the vicinity of the Great Lakes. Elsewhere, mild, dry weather is promoting fieldwork, including soybean planting efforts.

In the South, warm, humid weather accompanies scattered showers. Although the rain is slowing fieldwork, soil moisture remains mostly adequate for pastures and summer crops.

In the West, warm, mostly dry weather prevails, except for cool conditions along the immediate Pacific Coast. On Sunday, rain showers occurred over some of the wildfires in the central and southern Rockies, aiding containment efforts. The Black Forest fire, which has destroyed more than 500 structures in El Paso County, Colorado, is approximately two-thirds contained.

On the Plains, moderate to heavy showers continue to hamper the final stages of spring wheat planting in Montana and North Dakota. In contrast, heat and dryness are maintaining stress on crops and pastures on the southern Plains, although showers are approaching from the south in Texas and eastern New Mexico.

Across the Corn Belt, sunny skies favor late corn and soybean planting in the middle Mississippi Valley, while locally heavy showers and thunderstorms are approaching the western Corn Belt.

In the South, drier, cooler weather is settling over the region following yesterday’s locally severe storms associated with a strong cold front. However, the front continues to generate locally heavy downpours along the central and eastern Gulf Coast. Meanwhile, showers are surging northwest out of the western Gulf, providing much-needed moisture for central Texas’ drought-afflicted pastures, sorghum, and cotton.

In the West, scattered showers linger in the northern Rockies, while dry – albeit cooler – weather prevails elsewhere. Several wildfires remain uncontained in Colorado and New Mexico.

On the Plains, warmer weather in the north contrasts with cool conditions in the south. Much-needed showers are falling on the southern High Plains, although more rain is needed to ease exceptional drought.

Across the Corn Belt, cool, unsettled weather lingers east of the Mississippi. Recent showers have improved soil moisture in the eastern Corn Belt but maintained soggy fields in central portions of the region.

In the South, Tropical Storm Andrea is generating widespread, locally heavy rain as it accelerates northeast along the southern Atlantic Coast, likely eradicating the lingering moisture deficits in eastern North Carolina. However, the storm has begun to lose tropical characteristics, with the heaviest rain now falling well north and west of the center. Meanwhile, a cold front is triggering showers and thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast.

In the West, hot, dry weather is promoting fieldwork and crop development but heightening the risk of wildfires and exacerbating drought in central and southern portions of the region.

On the Plains, showers and thunderstorms are heaviest across storm-battered central and eastern Oklahoma. Most fieldwork remains on hold across the northern Plains, where North Dakota’s spring wheat was only 64% planted by June 2. In contrast, hot, dry weather continues to plague drought-ravaged western Texas.

Across the Corn Belt, cool but dry weather is promoting late-spring planting across eastern portions of the region, including Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Meanwhile, showers and thunderstorms are returning to the western Corn Belt, where fieldwork remains mostly at a standstill. By June 2, soybean planting was less than half complete in Illinois (49% planted), Iowa (44%), Wisconsin (43%), and Missouri (36%).

In the South, stormy, unsettled weather persists across southern Florida, where the early portion of the rainy season has been robust. Elsewhere, warm, dry weather favors late-spring planting efforts. By June 2, cotton planting in the Delta ranged from 77% complete in Mississippi and Tennessee to 97% complete in Arkansas.

In the West, expanding heat is promoting a rapid pace of fieldwork and crop development. Any lingering cool air is confined to the northern Rockies and northern Intermountain West.

On the Plains, cool, rainy weather continues to impede spring wheat planting and other fieldwork in Montana and the Dakotas. Farther south, showers and thunderstorms linger across the eastern Plains, following Thursday’s severe weather outbreak. In contrast, hot, dry weather on the southern High Plains is promoting winter wheat maturation but maintaining stress on rangeland, pastures, and emerging summer crops.

Across the Corn Belt, unusually cool weather in the upper Midwest contrasts with lingering warmth farther east. Fieldwork remains at a virtual standstill in the western Corn Belt due to waterlogged fields and ongoing rain, while showers are slowing a previously rapid planting pace in the eastern Corn Belt.

In the South, warm, dry weather continues to promote fieldwork in the southern Atlantic States, except in rain-soaked southern Florida. West of the Appalachians, increasingly showery weather is gradually closing a window of open weather that had allowed producers to make rapid progress in planting summer crops.

In the West, warmth continues to expand across California and the Southwest, but very cool conditions persist in the northern Rockies and northern Intermountain West.

On the Plains, locally heavy rain is occurring across northern and central areas, slowing or halting fieldwork but helping to ease or eradicate any remaining drought. Currently, rain is especially heavy in central and eastern Kansas and parts of Montana and the Dakotas. In contrast, unfavorably dry conditions persist across the southern half of the High Plains, further stressing rangeland, pastures, and emerging summer crops.

Across the Corn Belt, most areas are experiencing a temporary reprieve from heavy rain. However, showers are affecting some of the western corn and soybean production areas. Any fieldwork that is taking place is occurring in the eastern Corn Belt, where soils are somewhat drier and very warm weather prevails.

In the South, warm, mostly dry weather continues to promote fieldwork that had been previously delayed by cool, wet conditions. Isolated showers persist across southern Florida and are beginning to develop from the Mississippi Delta, westward.

In the West, temperatures are rebounding to near-normal levels in California and parts of the Southwest, but chilly conditions persist elsewhere. Isolated showers are mainly confined to the Pacific Northwest.

On the Plains, a chilly rain is falling across the central one-third of Montana, while strong thunderstorms are pounding south-central Texas in the vicinity of the Rio Grande. Elsewhere, cool, dry weather prevails, except for a return to above-normal temperatures on the central High Plains. Across the northern Plains, many fields remain too wet to resume summer crop planting operations.

Across the Corn Belt, cool weather and wet fields are slowing a return to fieldwork in many areas. Frost was noted early Friday morning in parts of the Great Lakes region, particularly in northern sections of Michigan and Wisconsin.

In the South, mostly dry weather favors an acceleration of fieldwork, especially in areas—such as the Mississippi Delta—where there have been significant spring planting delays.

In the West, lingering showers are confined to parts of Washington and Oregon. Cool weather dominates the region, especially across the Northwest. Freeze Warnings were in effect Friday morning in the northern Great Basin.