Weather

A variety of Autumn weather across the Heartland

Across the Corn Belt, cool weather is slowing evaporation rates, delaying a return to full-scale harvest operations despite unusually early corn and soybean maturation. In fact, lowland flooding persists in parts of the upper Midwest, particularly in Iowa and portions of neighboring states.

On the Plains, Freeze Warnings were in effect from the eastern Dakotas to northern Wisconsin. However, nearly all summer crops in the freeze-affected area are mature or have already been harvested. Elsewhere, a few showers are occurring across the central Plains, where chilly weather prevails, while warmth lingers across the southernmost Plains.

In the South, a few showers linger along and near the Atlantic Seaboard, but dry weather has returned to the Mississippi Delta. Fieldwork, including harvest of various crops, is resuming as conditions permit. On September 23, the U.S. rice harvest was 65% complete; the cotton harvest was 16% complete.

In the West, a late-season warm spell dominates areas west of the Rockies, favoring summer crop maturation and fieldwork such as harvest activities and winter wheat planting. In California, the rice harvest was 15% complete as of September 23, while 13% of the intended winter wheat acreage had been sown.

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