Weather

Heavy rain, severe weather pound parts of the Plains

Across the Corn Belt, fieldwork is again nearly at a standstill, following last week’s respectable planting progress in some northern and western corn and soybean production areas. U.S. corn planting, 49% complete by May 19, broke the modern-era record for that date (previously, 50% in 1993). Soybean planting, just 19% complete on May 19, is proceeding at the slowest pace since 1996, when 15% of the crop had been planted on that date.

On the Plains, an intense low-pressure system centered near the Oklahoma panhandle is producing a broad area of heavy rain. Flood Warnings are in effect early Tuesday in central and eastern sections of Kansas and Oklahoma, while wet snow is blanketing portions of Colorado’s high plains. Windy weather accompanies the storm, especially across the southern High Plains.

In the South, warm, dry weather in advance of an approaching cold front continues to promote fieldwork, except in still-soggy sections of the lower Mississippi Valley. On May 19, topsoil moisture was rated 60% surplus in Arkansas, along with 49% in Mississippi and 44% in Louisiana.

In the West, unusually cool weather accompanies scattered rain and snow showers. Some of the heaviest snow is falling in the central Rockies, but accumulations are also occurring in the Sierra Nevada. Meanwhile, high winds are sweeping across portions of the Southwest.