Weather

A wide-range of spring-related weather issues across the Heartland

Across the Corn Belt, showers and thunderstorms are affecting the Great Lakes region and areas west of the Mississippi River.  Early Thursday, some of the heaviest rain is falling in Iowa and northern Missouri.  In upper Midwestern areas where snowmelt flooding is occurring, rain is aggravating the situation.  Moderate to major flooding is being observed at more than three dozen river gauges, including most locations on the Mississippi River from La Crosse, Wisconsin, northward.  

On the Plains, cool weather trails a cold front’s passage.  In addition, snow showers persist in parts of Montana.  Thursday’s high temperatures will remain below 40°F in much of Montana and North Dakota, further delaying the start of spring planting activities.  In North Dakota, no barley or spring wheat had been planted by April 16, versus respective 5-year averages of 2 and 3%.  Elsewhere, warmth lingers across the southern Plains, including much of Texas, while breezy, dry conditions across the central and southern High Plains are resulting in some blowing dust and an elevated wildfire threat. 

In the South, warm weather prevails in advance of an approaching cold front.  Thursday’s high temperatures will generally range from 80 to 90°F, favoring fieldwork and crop development.  However, areas from the Mississippi Delta westward are bracing for a potential severe-weather outbreak, expected to occur later Thursday into Thursday night. 

In the West, cool, dry weather prevails.  Freeze warnings are in effect early Thursday in several interior valleys, extending as far south as southeastern Utah and western Colorado.  Cool weather is maintaining a favorably slow snow-melt pace in areas—such as California—where near-record to record-high snowpack exists.  According to the California Department  of Water Resources, the Sierra Nevada snowpack still contains an average of 58 inches of water equivalency.