Weather
Weather delays harvest in the upper Midwest
On the Plains, rain showers are developing across the Dakotas. Elsewhere, warm, dry weather prevails, despite an increase in cloudiness. In part due to dry conditions on the central and southern High Plains, winter wheat emergence was slightly behind the 5-year average on October 23 in Kansas (63% emerged) and Texas (42%).
Across the Corn Belt, dry weather accompanies a warming trend in advance of an approaching storm system. The corn harvest remains behind schedule in the upper Midwest—at least 10 percentage points behind the 5-year average pace in North Dakota (39% harvested on October 23) and South Dakota (47%).
In the South, warm, dry weather continues to promote autumn fieldwork. However, extremely dry conditions persist across the drought-affected interior Southeast. On October 23, more than half of the pastures were rated very poor to poor in Georgia (61%), Tennessee (57%), and Alabama (51%).
In the West, mild weather accompanies widely scattered showers. Some of the most widespread precipitation is occurring from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies. Northwestern winter wheat has benefited from the recent and ongoing showers; on October 23, the crop was rated 88% good to excellent in Washington.
Forecast High Temperatures (National)
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