Weather

Cold wave pattern continues across the Heartland

  Across the Corn Belt, cold, breezy weather prevails in the wake of a departing cold front. Flurries and snow showers linger in several areas, especially in the Ohio Valley and downwind of the Great Lakes. A variable snow cover blankets most of the region; current depths include 5 inches in Rockford, Illinois, and Columbus, Ohio.

On the Plains, frigid weather prevails. Across roughly the northern half of the region, winter wheat has some protection (in the form of a shallow to moderately deep snow cover) from Tuesday morning’s sub-zero temperatures. However, temperatures also plunged below 0° early Tuesday in snow-free areas such as southwestern Kansas and northwestern Oklahoma, threatening further harm to already drought-stressed winter wheat.

In the South, snow stretches from Kentucky to the western Gulf Coast region, causing locally significant travel disruptions. At daybreak, snow depths included 2 inches in Memphis, Tennessee, and Shreveport, Louisiana. In addition, Tuesday morning’s temperatures plunged to 0° as far south as northern Arkansas.

In the West, rain and high-elevation snow showers stretch from the Pacific Northwest to central California. However, mild weather is limiting snow accumulations. Mid-January snowpack is significantly below average in the western U.S., except in the northern Rockies and a few river basins in the Pacific Northwest.

Weather Alerts