Weather

Rains spread across the Western Corn Belt

On the Plains, rain lingers in parts of the Dakotas but has mostly ended across the remainder of the nation’s mid-section. Pastures and winter grains on the northern and southern High Plains are benefiting from recent soil moisture improvements, but both regions would welcome additional rain.

Across the Corn Belt, a band of showers and thunderstorms stretches across western portions of the region from North Dakota to Missouri. The rain is providing highly beneficial moisture in preparation for summer crop planting. Across the remainder of the Midwest, a period of cool weather is coming to an end.

In the South, cool weather lingers in the Atlantic Coast States. Elsewhere, dry weather and warmer conditions are promoting fieldwork and crop development.

In the West, very cool weather accompanies the latest round of stormy weather into California. Cool, rainy weather is slowing California’s fieldwork and crop development, but high-elevation snow continues to improve summer water-supply prospects. Elsewhere in the West, cool, mostly dry weather prevails.