Weather

Midwinter-like cold for most; some moisture developing on the southern Plains

Across the Corn Belt, cold, dry weather prevails, although winds have diminished.  Early Friday, temperatures again dipped below -10°F in parts of the upper Midwest, including much of northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin.  Livestock producers in the western Corn Belt are preparing for an impending snow and ice event.

On the Plains, cold weather persists in the Dakotas, especially in the Red River Valley of the North.  In contrast, mild, dry conditions dominate the High Plains and the southern Plains, favoring farm maintenance and other off-season activities.  Pockets of drought on the northern Plains remain a concern with respect to the health of the dormant winter wheat crop.

In the South, warmth is returning to the western Gulf Coast region, where Friday’s high temperatures will generally range from 65 to 80°F.  Cool, dry weather covers the remainder of the region, with freezes reported early Friday as far south as southern sections of Alabama and Georgia.  Most of the region’s lingering drought concerns are focused across southcentral Texas or stretch from the southern Appalachians into the middle Atlantic States.

In the West, dry weather from southern California to the central and southern Rockies contrasts with mostly cloudy conditions and spotty rain and snow showers across the remainder of the region.  For example, a cold front approaching the West Coast is producing some precipitation in northern California and the Pacific Northwest.  The average water equivalency of the Sierra Nevada snowpack has topped 5 inches, roughly one-fifth of the typical full-season accumulation.