Weather

A beneficial rain across much of the Great Plains

On the Plains, cool weather prevails, except for a return of above-normal temperatures to Montana’s High Plains. From the southern High Plains to southeastern Nebraska, rain is boosting topsoil moisture for newly planted winter wheat and aiding drought-stressed rangeland and pastures.

Across the Corn Belt, a Frost Advisory was in effect early Thursday in parts of the eastern Dakotas and northwestern Minnesota, where Thursday morning low temperatures generally ranged from 30 to 40°. Meanwhile, a band of generally light rain stretching from Upper Michigan to near the Iowa-Missouri-Nebraska triple point is slowing fieldwork but benefiting drought-stressed pastures.

In the South, mild, mostly dry weather favors crop maturation and fieldwork, including harvest activities for a variety of summer crops.

In the West, temperatures are rebounding to above-normal levels, especially across the northwestern half of the region. Cool conditions and a few showers linger in the southern Rockies.