Weather

Wet weather lingers across the eastern Corn Belt

Across the Corn Belt, clouds and a few showers linger from the Mississippi Valley eastward. Meanwhile, dry weather prevails in drought-affected areas of the northwestern Corn Belt. Nationally, 65% of the corn and 59% of the soybeans were rated in good to excellent condition, according to USDA/NASS, on July 11. On the same date, crops are entering reproduction, with 26% of the U.S. corn silking and 46% of the soybeans blooming.

On the Plains, showers associated with a developing storm system are overspreading parts of Nebraska and South Dakota. Across the remainder of the nation’s mid-section, warm, dry weather favors winter wheat maturation and harvesting, as well as summer crop development. However, drought across the northern Plains continues to adversely affect rangeland, pastures, and a variety of crops. Durum wheat yield for the U.S., currently pegged by USDA/NASS at 25.8 bushels per acre—if realized—would be the lowest since 1989.

In the South, a cold front is producing showers, mainly from the Tennessee Valley southward to the Gulf Coast. Showers are also occurring along the southern Atlantic Coast. Pockets of excessive moisture exist across the Deep South. On July 11, topsoil moisture was rated 20 to 30% surplus in Georgia and each of the Gulf Coast States except Mississippi.

In the West, showers associated with the monsoon circulation are becoming more active across the southern Great Basin and the Four Corners States. Hot, dry conditions persist, however, from California into the Northwest. Smoke from dozens of wildfires is degrading air quality in many areas from the Pacific Northwest to the northern and central Rockies. The Bootleg Fire has charred well over 150,000 acres of vegetation in southern Oregon, while the Beckwourth Complex has burned more than 90,000 acres in northern California.