Weather
Late-winter look, feel in parts of the Corn Belt
Across the Corn Belt, snow is occurring in many areas west of the Mississippi River, while precipitation—mostly cold rain—is falling in the middle Ohio Valley. Chilly, breezy weather prevails throughout the Midwest.
On the Plains, cool, dry weather prevails, except for patchy snow across northern areas. In Kansas, where beneficial precipitation fell early this week, winter wheat was rated 55% very poor to poor on March 18. On the same date, more than half of the wheat was also rated very poor to poor in Oklahoma (66%) and Texas (60%).
In the South, violent thunderstorms struck late Monday from northeastern Mississippi into parts of Georgia; recovery efforts are underway in areas affected by high winds, large hail, and isolated tornadoes. Currently, the threat for severe weather has shifted to the southern Atlantic region. Meanwhile, spring fieldwork has been delayed in some of the region’s wettest areas; in Louisiana, 8% of the intended corn acreage had been planted by March 18, compared to 31% at the same time a year ago.
In the West, a moisture-laden storm is bearing down on California, where a few rain showers have begun to overspread coastal areas. Elsewhere, dry weather accompanies a gradual warming trend.
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