Weather

Showers develop on the northern Plains; windy, cool weather covers much of the Corn Belt

Across the Corn Belt, weekend thunderstorms resulted in scattered wind and hail damage.  Notably, a high-wind event swept eastward from southern Ohio on Saturday evening, followed by a cluster of wind damage and isolated tornadoes in the middle Mississippi Valley late Sunday.  Currently, showers in the vicinity of a cold front are sweeping across the eastern Corn Belt, while cool, breezy conditions trail the front.  A rain-snow mix is falling in the upper Great Lakes region.

On the Plains, warm, dry weather prevails, except in Montana.  On the northern High Plains, precipitation—chilly rain and wet snow—is boosting topsoil moisture for rangeland, pastures, and winter wheat, and spring-sown small grains.  About a week ago, on April 13, nearly two-thirds (64%) of Montana’s rangeland and pastures were rated in very poor to poor condition.  Pockets of unfavorable dryness exist across many other parts of the nation’s mid-section, although weekend thunderstorms provided some beneficial moisture, mainly from central Texas into southeastern Kansas.

In the South, a broken line of showers and thunderstorms stretches from Kentucky into eastern Texas.  In advance of the shower activity, warm, humid Southeastern weather favors fieldwork and a rapid pace of crop development.

In the West, any lingering precipitation is confined to the northern Rockies.  Elsewhere, chilly weather in the Northwest contrasts with above-normal temperatures across the southern half of the region.  During the weekend, beneficial rain and snow showers dotted the Southwest, but provided little overall relief from long-term drought.