Weather

Much cooler air arrives on the northern Plains

On the Plains, cool weather is returning to northern areas. Meanwhile, highly beneficial showers in the vicinity of a cold front stretch from the central High Plains to the middle Missouri Valley. Winter wheat planting is off to a slow start, behind the 5-year average in all seven major production states on the Plains. On September 9, planting progress was more 5 percentage points behind the average in Colorado (0% planted versus the average of 13%), Nebraska (8 vs. 16%), and South Dakota (8 vs. 14%).

Across the Corn Belt, showers are developing across the upper Midwest, where more than three-quarters of the pastures were rated in very poor to poor condition on September 9 in Nebraska (97% very poor to poor), Iowa (77%), and South Dakota (76%). The rain is causing only minor fieldwork delays.

In the South, warm, dry weather prevails, except for isolated showers across Florida’s peninsula and along the Gulf Coast. Harvest activities are ongoing for a variety of summer crops.

In the West, scattered showers linger, mainly in the Four Corners States. Meanwhile, dry weather is promoting Northwestern small grain planting. On September 9, Washington led the nation with 31% of its winter wheat planted, slightly ahead of the 5-year average of 30%.