Weather

“Quiet” weather on the Plains; still unsettled over the far eastern Corn Belt

Across the Corn Belt, any showers are light and limited to the Ohio Valley and the lower Great Lakes region.  Meanwhile, frost and light freezes were noted early Monday in parts of the western Corn Belt.  Across much of the Midwest, cool, dry weather is promoting autumn fieldwork, including winter wheat planting and corn and soybean harvesting.  About a week ago, on October 8, winter wheat planting ranged from 14 percent complete in Missouri to 31 percent in Ohio.   

On the Plains, Freeze Warnings were in effect early Monday, mainly across portions of Nebraska, Kansas, and western Oklahoma.  The cold weather is having little impact on mostly mature summer crops or emerging winter wheat.  In fact, cool, dry weather throughout the central and southern Plains favors fieldwork.  Elsewhere, late-season warmth has returned across the northern High Plains, where Monday’s high temperatures will reach 75°F in parts of Montana. 

In the South, cloudy conditions and a few sprinkles linger across the Tennessee Valley and near the Atlantic Coast.  Elsewhere, cool, dry weather is nearly ideal for fieldwork, including harvesting of crops such as cotton, peanuts, rice, and soybeans.  About a week ago, on October 8, the U.S. rice harvest was 82% complete, ahead of the 5-year average of 79%. 

In the West, precipitation in advance of a Pacific cold front is spreading across coastal sections of Washington, Oregon, and northwestern California.  Across the remainder of the region, mild, dry weather is allowing fieldwork—including summer crop harvesting and planting of winter grains and cover crops—to advance at a rapid pace.