Weather
Cold weather dominates most of the Heartland; snow cover varies in some areas
Across the Corn Belt, a high-pressure system centered over the middle Mississippi Valley is resulting in very cold conditions. In fact, Wednesday’s low temperatures locally plunged below 0°F as far south as Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. However, an extensive snow cover across the coldest Midwestern areas is providing insulation for winter wheat.
On the Plains, mild, dry weather temporarily prevails between cold outbreaks. With Wednesday’s high temperatures expected to top 40°F across much of the nation’s mid-section, some further erosion of winter wheat’s protective snow cover is occurring. In fact, any remaining snow cover is patchy and shallow, except in some areas along and near the Canadian border and across the east-central Plains.
In the South, another surge of cold air has reached as far south as the Tennessee Valley, where this morning’s minimum temperatures locally dipped below 10°F. Meanwhile, with a Deep South storm track remaining active, rain showers have developed in the western Gulf Coast region.
In the West, a significantly elevated wildfire threat persists across the coastal ranges of southern California, where Wednesday’s wind gusts could reach 60 mph. Under such conditions, containment of existing fires remains a challenge, while any new fires could exhibit extreme and erratic behavior. Dry weather prevails throughout the West, with temperatures rebounding to near- or above normal levels in much of the Great Basin and Pacific Coast States.
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