Weather

Wide-ranging weather across the Heartland

Across the Corn Belt, mostly dry weather generally favors corn and soybean maturation and harvesting. However, warm weather in the southern Corn Belt contrasts with cool conditions in the Great Lakes region and the upper Midwest. The cool weather is slowing evaporation rates and limiting fieldwork in areas that received heavy September rainfall. On September 30, Iowa led the Midwest with topsoil moisture rated 27% surplus.

On the Plains, chilly weather is confined to northern areas. Elsewhere, warm, recently dry weather favors summer crop maturation and harvesting, as well as winter wheat planting. At the end of September, Nebraska led the nation with 72% of its intended winter wheat acreage planted. At least one-fifth of the intended winter wheat acreage was planted during the week ending September 30 in Colorado, Kansas, and Montana.

In the South, pockets of wetness persist—following last week’s heavy rain—from the western and central Gulf Coast States to the Appalachians. On September 30, topsoil moisture was rated at least one-third surplus in Tennessee (53% surplus), Virginia (43%), Arkansas (39%), Kentucky (35%), and Louisiana (34%). Currently, scattered showers are primarily confined to the interior Southeast, including parts of Kentucky and Tennessee.

In the West, rainfall associated with “Rosa” is soaking parts of Arizona and the southwestern U.S. At the end of September, Arizona’s cotton was 22% harvested, ahead of the 5-year average of 15%. Meanwhile, a cold front crossing northern and central California is producing showers, curbing the wildfire threat but slowing or halting fieldwork. California’s rice harvest was 18% complete by September 30, behind the average of 27%.

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