Weather
Cold wave wide, far reaching
Across the Corn Belt, sub-zero temperatures are maintaining significant stress on livestock. Readings near -30° were noted early Tuesday in parts of the western Corn Belt. However, most of the Midwestern winter wheat crop retains a protective snow cover. Snow depths include 3 inches in Omaha, Nebraska, and Fort Wayne, Indiana.
On the Plains, a modest “warming” trend is underway, although sub-zero temperatures were noted early Tuesday in northeastern Kansas and from Nebraska northward. On New Year’s Day, temperatures plunged below 0° as far south as northern Oklahoma, causing potential winterkill issues for poorly established winter wheat. From Nebraska northward, however, wheat has been largely insulated by snow from extreme cold. Nevertheless, the spell of frigid, often windy weather, which began just before Christmas, has been difficult for livestock..
In the South, cold, dry weather prevails, except for rain showers along Florida’s east coast. Freeze Warnings were in effect early Tuesday throughout the Deep South, except across Florida’s peninsula. Agricultural concerns include light freezes in Deep South Texas and a second consecutive hard freeze in Louisiana’s sugarcane area.
In the West, warm, dry conditions persist from California into the Southwest. Measurable precipitation has not occurred in Albuquerque, New Mexico, since October 5—an 88-day dry spell and counting—the longest such streak in that location since February 4 – May 20, 1956. Meanwhile, milder weather is overspreading the Northwest, although cool, foggy conditions persist in some valley locations.
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