Weather

More storms, flooding rains parts of the southern, western Corn Belt; intense heat lingers on the southern Plains

Across the Corn Belt, a parade of thunderstorms continues across previously drought-stricken Missouri.  Columbia, Missouri, which received 3.77 inches of rain on the 3rd, experienced its wettest August day in more than 20 years.  Showers are also occurring early Friday across the westernmost Corn Belt.  Across the remainder of the Midwest, from the upper Mississippi Valley to the lower Great Lakes States, warm, dry weather favors a rapid pace of corn and soybean development.   

On the Plains, active weather across the northern half of the region is slowing the late stages of the winter wheat harvest but benefiting immature summer crops.  Early Friday, rain is falling as far south as Kansas.  Meanwhile, scorching heat in Texas, excluding the state’s northern panhandle, is resulting in potentially adverse impacts on cotton and other immature summer crops. 

In the South, the boundary between record-setting heat in the western Gulf Coast region and cool conditions in the mid-Atlantic is marked by thunderstorm activity, which is heaviest early Friday in the Tennessee Valley.  On August 3, daily record high temperatures included 102°F in Harlingen, Texas, and 101°F in Lafayette, Louisiana.  Similar readings are expected Friday, with temperatures possibly reaching 105°F at some interior locations in the western Gulf Coast States. 

In the West, the threat of flash flooding lingers Friday in parts of Wyoming.  Farther west, lightning strikes could spark new wildfires in Oregon and portions of neighboring states.  Meanwhile, a break in monsoon-related activity has allowed dry and excessively hot weather to return across the Desert Southwest.