Weather
Milder weather builds across the Heartland
Across the Corn Belt, wintry precipitation (snow, sleet, and freezing rain) is falling across the lower Great Lakes region. Conditions are improving across the remainder of the Midwest, although dense fog lingers in a few areas. A generally shallow snow cover remains in place across much of the Corn Belt. Current snow depths include 2 inches in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Rockford, Illinois; and Indianapolis, Indiana.
On the Plains, mild weather from Nebraska northward continues to erode winter wheat’s protective snow cover. The southern half of the region is also experiencing mild weather, which is exacerbating the adverse effects of intensifying drought on rangeland, pastures, and winter wheat. Measurable precipitation last fell in Amarillo, Texas, on October 13—a streak of 86 consecutive days and counting.
In the South, freezing rain is spreading across the southern Appalachians and environs, causing significant travel disruptions. A chilly rain is falling closer to the Gulf Coast, from Louisiana to western Florida. In general, the moisture is beneficial for pastures and winter grains, following an extended dry spell.
In the West, the most significant storm of the season is approaching California, bearing locally heavy rain and high-elevation snow. In advance of the storm, the average water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack stood at 2 inches, less than one-quarter of the early-January normal. However, the storm could also cause mud and debris flows on recently burned California hillsides.
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