Weather

A change in weather north; heat wave continues elsewhere; severe storms, local flooding parts of the midwestern Corn Belt

Across the Corn Belt, showers and thunderstorms are affecting a few areas, mainly east of the Mississippi River.  Despite the showers, much of the Midwest continues to endure very hot weather, along with varying degrees of heat- and drought-related crop stress, as Friday’s high temperatures are expected to reach the 100-degree mark in the middle Mississippi and lower Missouri Valleys.  However, cooler air is starting to overspread the far upper Midwest, where Friday’s temperatures in North Dakota will remain mostly below 80°F. 

On the Plains, spotty showers are occurring primarily across the northern half of the region, accompanied by slightly cooler conditions.  However, any rain is largely too late to benefit spring-sown small grains, including barley and spring wheat.  Farther south, hot, mostly dry weather persists across the central and southern Plains, where Friday’s maximum temperatures will again broadly reach 100°F or higher. 

In the South, tropical moisture is contributing to heavy showers in the southern Atlantic region, with Fort Lauderdale, Florida, having received 6.19 inches of rain on July 27.  Hot, humid, mostly dry weather covers the remainder of the region.  Friday’s high temperatures will approach, reach, or exceed 100°F from the Mississippi Delta, westward. 

In the West, mostly dry weather prevails.  However, favorably cooler weather in California and the Northwest contrasts with lingering heat in the Southwest.  Phoenix, Arizona, is poised to become the first major U.S. city to record a monthly average temperature greater than 100°F; the average of 102.9°F (through July 27) is 7.4°F above normal and should easily exceed the city’s monthly standard of 99.1°F, set in August 2020.