Weather

Warm, dry weather dominates the Heartland

On the Plains, hot weather across the northern half of the region contrasts with relatively cool conditions in Oklahoma and Texas. In Montana, isolated showers are causing minor small grain harvest delays.

Across the Corn Belt, warm conditions are returning, following an extended period of cool weather. For example, Des Moines, Iowa, last experienced an above-normal daily average temperature on August 8. In addition, there is an elevated wildfire danger Wednesday in the middle Missouri Valley due to very warm, dry, breezy conditions.

In the South, showery weather continues from the central Gulf Coast region to the southern Atlantic coastal plain, maintaining generally favorable conditions for pastures and immature summer crops. Extremely dry conditions persist, however, in the Mid-South, including much of Arkansas and the Bootheel of Missouri.

In the West, a cold front crossing the northern Intermountain region is interacting with the Southwestern monsoon circulation, helping to generate scattered showers. However, rain has largely bypassed the Northwest, where small grain harvest and wildfire containment efforts continue.