Weather

An increasingly active pattern developing across parts of the Heartland

Across the Corn Belt, a strong cold front extends from the upper Great Lakes region into the lower Missouri Valley, preceded and accompanied by showers and thunderstorms.  The rain is slowing corn and soybean planting activities, which had been quickly advancing in recent days.  Warmth lingers in the eastern Corn Belt, where Friday’s high temperatures will range from 85 to 90°F.  Meanwhile, sharply cooler weather is arriving across the upper Midwest.

On the Plains, heat lingers across Texas, where Friday’s high temperatures will again reach 100°F or higher in many locations.  Meanwhile, markedly cooler air is overspreading the northern High Plains, where high temperatures will remain below 50°F.  Rain and snow showers are occurring this morning in parts of Montana and northern North Dakota.

In the South, locally heavy showers and thunderstorms have developed across parts of Florida’s peninsula.  Across the remainder of the region, hot, mostly dry weather is reducing topsoil moisture.  However, the early-season heat is also promoting summer crop development, especially in areas with adequate soil moisture reserves.

In the West, warmth is confined to the southern tier of the region, from southern California to the southern Rockies.  New Mexico remains the center of recent fire activity, which includes the state’s largest wildfire in modern history—the 303,000-acre Calf Canyon / Hermits Peak Fire, near Las Vegas—and the rapidly expanding, 93,000-acre Black Fire, northwest of Truth or Consequences.  Cool weather covers the remainder of the western U.S., with some rain and snow showers lingering across the northern and central Rockies.  In addition, freezes were reported Friday morning in several areas, including portions of Idaho’s Snake River Plain and north-central Oregon, east of the Cascades.