Weather
Rains focusing on the western Corn Belt
Across the Corn Belt, showers are returning to the upper Midwest, including already soggy areas of southern Minnesota. However, rain is also overspreading some previously dry areas of the western Corn Belt, providing a boost in soil moisture for reproductive corn and soybeans. In Iowa, where rain is arriving, topsoil moisture was rated 52% very short to short on July 23.
On the Plains, a large cluster of storms provided generally beneficial overnight rainfall in parts of South Dakota and Nebraska. Prior to the rainfall, on July 23, topsoil moisture was rated 82% very short to short in South Dakota and 71% very short to short in Nebraska. Further, South Dakota leads the nation, among major production states, in very poor to poor ratings for spring wheat (76% very poor to poor), sorghum (57%), corn (37%), and soybeans (34%). Meanwhile, hot weather lingers across the southern half of the region.
In the South, warm, dry weather in most areas is promoting fieldwork and crop development. However, isolated showers linger along the Gulf Coast and in the southern Atlantic region.
In the West, hot weather in the northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest contrasts with near- to below-normal temperatures farther south. In recent days, the focus for significant wildfire activity has shifted to the northern Rockies, where afternoon lightning strikes could spark new fires.
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