Weather

Drier, seasonal weather settles into the Heartland

Across the Corn Belt, widely scattered showers across the upper Midwest are causing only minor fieldwork delays. Dry weather covers the remainder of the Midwest. However, corn and soybean harvest activities remain on hold in parts of the eastern Corn Belt due to lingering wet field conditions, following the heavy rain event of September 20-23. Four-day rainfall totals included 4.83 inches in Toledo, Ohio, and 4.47 inches in Detroit, Michigan.

On the Plains, mostly dry weather continues, despite an increase in cloudiness. Isolated showers are occurring early Friday, however, across the northern Plains. With more than one-fifth (21%) of the intended U.S. winter wheat acreage planted by September 19, soaking rain will be needed soon in many of the Plains’ production areas to ensure even emergence and establishment. Especially significant short-term dryness has developed on the southern Plains.

In the South, any lingering showers are confined to southern Florida, where warm, humid weather prevails. Elsewhere, cool, dry weather favors fieldwork, including harvest activities for a variety of summer crops. Friday’s minimum temperatures ranged from 40 to 50°F across a broad area encompassing the interior Southeast.

In the West, spotty showers have developed across the Desert Southwest. Warm, dry weather across the remainder of the region favors crop maturation and fieldwork, including summer crop harvesting and winter wheat planting. Concerns in California’s Central Valley include hot weather (high temperatures approaching 100°F) and poor air quality. Wildfires in the southern Sierra Nevada are contributing to smoky, hazy conditions in parts of California; active fires include the 49,000-acre Windy Fire and the 36,000-acre KNP Complex.