Weather
Midwestern soil moisture largely adequate
Across the Corn Belt, clusters of showers and thunderstorms generally stretch from Michigan to Missouri. Slightly cooler air is overspreading the upper Midwest, while warm, humid conditions cover the remainder of the Corn Belt. On June 25, topsoil moisture was rated less than 20% very short to short in all Midwestern States bordering the Mississippi River eastward, except for Iowa (28%).
On the Plains, scattered showers and thunderstorms dot the region. In areas that have received significant rain, pasture and crop conditions have stabilized. However, core drought areas in eastern Montana and the Dakotas will require much more rain to rebound from a punishing, early-season dry spell. Meanwhile, hot, dry weather prevails on the southern High Plains, boosting irrigation requirements.
In the South, a broad area of shower activity lingers along the Gulf Coast and is pushing northward through Alabama and Georgia. The remainder of the South is experiencing dry weather—favorable for fieldwork and crop development—but also a gradual increase in heat and humidity.
In the West, hot weather continues in the Four Corners region and is re-building across northern California and the Pacific Northwest. More than two dozen wildfires—in various stages of containment—are burning across the West. The two largest fires, the Brian Head fire in southwestern Utah and the Frye fire in southeastern Arizona, have collectively charred nearly 100,000 acres of timber and brush.
Add Comment