Weather

Showers linger on parts of the southern Plains

On the Plains, warm weather has returned to northern areas, where Friday’s high temperatures will approach 90° as far north as Montana. Farther south, cool, showery weather continues to boost soil moisture in preparation for winter wheat planting, especially across the southeastern Plains.

Across the Corn Belt, a band of widespread showers stretches from southeastern Michigan into the middle Mississippi Valley. Farther north, frost advisories are in effect early today in parts of North Dakota and northern Minnesota, where low temperatures generally ranged from 30 to 40°.

In the South, isolated showers are confined to the western Gulf Coast region and Florida’s peninsula. Elsewhere, warm, dry weather continues to promote summer crop maturation and harvesting.

In the West, cool conditions linger across the southern Rockies. Elsewhere, late-season warmth and dry conditions favor fieldwork, including Northwestern winter wheat planting. However, several wildfires remain active in the northern Rockies. On the strength of late-summer wildfire activity in the Northwest, the nation’s year-to-date total is approaching 8.4 million acres—within reach of the 2006 record of 9.9 million acres.