Weather

Early-season heat wave peaking across the Nation’s mid-section

Across the Corn Belt, an early-season hot spell is nearing its peak, as Wednesday’s high temperatures should reach 90°F or higher across much of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri.  The sudden warmth has resulted in an acceleration of corn and soybean planting, except in areas where fieldwork is still limited by excessive wetness.  Several days ago, on May 8, topsoil moisture was rated 60% surplus in Ohio, along with 50% in Illinois and 46% in Indiana.

On the Plains, lingering cool conditions are generally confined to Montana and the Dakotas.  Hot weather dominates the central and southern Plains, with Wednesday’s high temperatures expected to reach 90°F or higher in most areas from Nebraska southward.  Although overnight thunderstorms provided limited drought relief on the southern High Plains, complications included large hail (at least 1 to 2 inches in diameter), high winds, and ineffective absorption of localized downpours into parched soils.

In the South, cool, breezy weather along the southern Atlantic Coast contrasts with hot conditions west of the Appalachians.  Dry weather throughout the region favors planting of crops such as corn, cotton, peanuts, rice, and soybeans.

In the West, several large, early-season wildfires—including the 204,000-acre Calf Canyon Fire near Las Vegas, New Mexico—continue to burn in the southern Rockies, where hot, windy, dry conditions linger.  Cool weather covers the remainder of the region, including California, the Great Basin, and the Northwest.  Frost Advisories and Freeze Warnings were in effect early Wednesday across parts of the interior Northwest and areas near the northern Pacific Coast.