Weather

Seasonal heat wave pattern across the Heartland

On the Plains, cool weather is limited to portions of Montana and North Dakota. In contrast, Monday’s high temperatures will approach, reach, or exceed 100°F on the central and southern High Plains. In addition, drought is adversely affecting some pastures and rain-fed summer crops on the central and southern Plains.

Across the Corn Belt, showers and thunderstorms are rumbling across the northern tier of Midwestern States. Farther south, weekend showers provided drought-stressed corn and soybeans with much-needed moisture, although soil moisture reserves remain limited across much of the southern and eastern Corn Belt.

In the South, summer crops and pastures continue to benefit from recent topsoil moisture improvements. However, not all of the rain has been equally distributed; significant drought persists in several regions, including much of the Mid-South and the northern Mississippi Delta.

In the West, scattered showers are confined to the northern tier of the region. Cool weather is limiting crop development in coastal California and from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies, while above normal temperatures cover the remainder of the region.