Weather

Temps vary greatly across the Heartland; an active pattern underway for most

Across the Corn Belt, livestock producers in the upper Midwest are preparing for snow, expected to develop later Friday.  Lambing and calving season is well underway; in North Dakota, for example, 41% of the ewes had lambed and 18% of the cows had calved by the end of February.  Meanwhile from Iowa southward, rain is boosting topsoil moisture, following a mostly drier-than-normal winter.  Elsewhere, lowland flooding continues in parts of the Ohio Valley, especially across southern Indiana, following recent downpours.  

On the Plains, a developing low-pressure system over western Kansas separates cooler air to the north and west from lingering warmth to the south and east.  A significantly elevated wildfire threat persists on the southern High Plains, while overnight thunderstorms resulted in localized wind and hail damage from central Kansas southward.  Meanwhile on the northern Plains, patches of wintry precipitation and blustery conditions are resulting in some travel disruptions. 

In the South, showers continue to graze the northern edge of the region, from Kentucky to Virginia.  However, most of the South is experiencing warm, dry weather, favorable for fieldwork, but leaving many areas at risk for further drought intensification.  According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, dated March 3, Extreme to Exceptional Drought (D3 to D4) covered 71% of Florida, along with 37% of Georgia, 35% of Arkansas, and 12% of Louisiana and South Carolina.

In the West, scattered rain and snow showers stretch from the Pacific Northwest to the northern and central Rockies.  Generally mild conditions accompany the unsettled weather, limiting snow accumulations to higher-elevation sites.  Meanwhile, warm, dry, breezy weather prevails in the Southwest.