Weather

Mid-Summer heat wave covers much of the Nation, centered on the Plains

Across the Corn Belt, temperatures east of the Mississippi River remain favorable for reproductive corn and soybeans.  However, hot weather edging into the western Corn Belt will result in Monday’s high temperatures ranging from 90 to 105°F, with some of the hottest weather focused across the Dakotas.  Meanwhile, rain is gradually ending across the eastern Corn Belt, where weekend showers and thunderstorms resulted in locally significant totals of 2 to 4 inches or more.

On the Plains, record-breaking heat prevails, with potentially serious effects on reproductive summer crops.  Most of the region will experience high temperatures of 100°F or higher, with readings approaching 110°F as far north as South Dakota.  Across the eastern Plains, high humidity levels accompanying the heat are increasing stress on livestock.  As the Plains’ heat expanded and intensified on Sunday, July 17, daily-record high temperatures included 108°F in Glasgow, Montana, and 110°F in Lawton, Oklahoma, and Wichita Falls, Texas.

In the South, scattered showers and thunderstorms stretch from the Ohio Valley to the Mississippi Delta.  Elsewhere, hot, dry weather prevails in the western Gulf Coast region, while very warm, humid weather covers the lower Southeast.  Although recent weather conditions have been mostly favorable for Southeastern summer crops, varying degrees of heat- and drought-related crop and pasture stress exist from the western Gulf Coast region into the mid-South.

In the West, slightly cooler air is arriving across the Northwest, while other areas are experiencing heat.  On Sunday, Salt Lake City, Utah, tied an all-time station record of 107°F, previously achieved on June 15, 2021, and several earlier dates.  Despite widespread cloudiness, the Southwestern monsoon circulation is resulting in only widely scattered showers.