Weather

Summer-like feel covers much of the Heartland

Across the Corn Belt, warm, dry weather is fostering corn and soybean maturation—and an accelerating harvest pace. On September 20, at least one-half of the corn was fully mature in all Midwestern States except Ohio (30% mature), Michigan (37%), North Dakota (39%), and Wisconsin (49%). Friday’s high temperatures should reach or exceed 90° as far north as eastern Nebraska.

On the Plains, a cold front crossing the Dakotas is producing cloudiness and isolated showers. Warm, dry weather across the remainder of the region favors summer crop maturation and harvesting, as well as winter wheat planting. However, drought covers 26% of the U.S. winter wheat production area, including large sections of the High Plains, according to the September 22 U.S. Drought Monitor. Rain will be needed in drought-affected areas for proper wheat establishment.

In the South, Post-Tropical Cyclone Beta is losing its identity but continues to spark widespread rain in Virginia and the Carolinas. In the wake of Beta’s departure, dry weather has returned from the western Gulf Coast region to the Mississippi Delta. Following the rain, producers are monitoring unharvested summer crops such as cotton, rice, and soybeans.

In the West, cooler weather is arriving in the Pacific Northwest, accompanied by widespread, much-needed precipitation. However, warm, dry conditions persist across the remainder of the region. In addition, windy conditions and low humidity levels are leading to an elevated wildfire threat, especially from northern Arizona into Wyoming.