Weather

Chilly, but largely dry weather across the Corn Belt

Across the Corn Belt, surplus soil moisture and wet fields continue to limit fieldwork in some areas, particularly across Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. Elsewhere, cool, dry weather is generally promoting late-season corn and soybean harvest efforts. At the end of October, at least one-quarter of the soybeans remained in the field in five Midwestern States: Michigan (45% still to be harvested), Missouri (41%), Indiana (33%), Illinois (25%), and Ohio (25%).

On the Plains, chilly conditions linger, especially across Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Some light rain is falling across the southeastern Plains. Meanwhile, above-normal temperatures are returning across the northern High Plains, where Wednesday’s high temperatures could approach or reach 60°F. Growing conditions for newly planted winter wheat remain mixed, with crop establishment limited in some areas by drought and the recent cool spell.

In the South, Freeze Warnings were in effect early Wednesday as far south as Tennessee and Virginia. In contrast, warmth lingers across peninsular Florida and Deep South Texas. Southeastern fieldwork—including winter wheat planting and cotton, peanut, and soybean harvesting—is advancing at a rapid pace, but rain showers have begun to overspread the western Gulf Coast region and the Mississippi Delta.

In the West, spotty precipitation in advance of an approaching storm system is limited to the Pacific Northwest. Elsewhere, dry weather and above-normal temperatures favor autumn fieldwork, including Southwestern cotton harvesting. In addition, late-season Northwestern warmth is promoting winter wheat development.