Weather

Winter-like cold across the Corn Belt

Across the Corn Belt, cold weather prevails, while snow showers are confined to areas downwind of the Great Lakes. Wednesday morning’s temperatures fell to 0° as far south as northern Iowa.

On the Plains, dry weather favors late-season fieldwork, including cotton and sunflower harvesting. Cold weather lingers across much of the region, with today’s low temperatures falling to near 0° in the eastern Dakotas. However, mild air is overspreading the northern half of the High Plains.

In the South, fieldwork remains on hold due to colder weather and lingering rain. Rain has changed to snow in the southern Appalachians. However, the precipitation has also provided relief from dry conditions and benefited fall-sown crops. On November 24, in advance of the storm system, USDA rated topsoil moisture 69% very short to short in South Carolina, along with 51% in Florida and 47% in Alabama and Georgia.

In the West, mostly dry weather accompanies a warming trend. Despite an increase in cloudiness, mild, dry weather favors a return to fieldwork in California and the Desert Southwest. Farther north, a few showers are just starting to overspread the Pacific Northwest.