Weather
Damaging freezes deep into the southeastern U.S.
On the Plains, warm, mostly dry, breezy weather prevails. Thursday’s high temperatures could approach 90° as far north as the central High Plains. In addition, drought remains a concern with respect to winter wheat health and wildfire activity on the central and southern High Plains. On March 12, topsoil moisture was rated 67% very short to short in Kansas, along with 47% in Oklahoma and 38% in Texas.
Across the Corn Belt, chilly, breezy conditions persist. Parts of the Midwest retain a shallow to moderately deep snow cover in the wake of recent storminess; current depths include 2 inches in Madison, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.
In the South, a Freeze Warning was in effect early Thursday as far south as northern Florida. Southeastern producers continue to monitor sensitive crops such as peaches and blueberries for signs of freeze damage, although full impacts of the cold outbreak may not be known for days or weeks. Preliminary low temperatures Thursday morning plunged to 25° in Gainesville, Florida; 23° in Augusta, Georgia; and 20° in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In the West, early-season warmth favors fieldwork and crop development. Lingering showers are confined to the Northwest, where runoff from rain and melting snow is resulting in local flooding.
Forecast High Temperatures (National)
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