Weather

More rain for the southern Corn Belt; cooler, drier air on the move elsewhere

Across the Corn Belt, showers in the vicinity of a cold front stretch from Ohio to Missouri.  The remainder of the Midwest is experiencing dry weather and near- or below-normal temperatures.  Tuesday’s high temperatures will remain near or below 80°F in the central and eastern Corn Belt, including much of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

On the Plains, hot weather in Oklahoma and Texas continues to adversely affect rangeland, pastures, and many summer crops, including cotton, despite scattered showers.  August 8 was the 36th consecutive day in San Angelo, Texas, with a high temperature of 100°F or greater, a record originally set from July 2-29, 2011.  Meanwhile on the northern Plains, warm, dry weather is promoting maturation and harvesting of crops such as barley, spring wheat, and winter wheat.

In the South, hot, humid, showery weather is slowing fieldwork, including some hay-cutting operations, but generally favors summer crop development.  On August 7, more than two-thirds of the U.S. rice (74%) and peanuts (70%) were rated in good to excellent condition, reflective of recent and ongoing Southeastern showers.  However, hot, dry weather persists in the drought-affected western Gulf Coast region.

In the West, hot weather continues across the northern half of the region, where Tuesday’s high temperatures could reach 100°F or higher as far north as southeastern Washington.  The Northwestern heat favors small grain maturation and harvesting.  However, several fast-spreading Northwestern wildfires remain active, with new fire starts possible in areas where lightning strikes occur without the benefit of rainfall.  Elsewhere, monsoon-related thundershowers are active in the Great Basin and parts of the Southwest, maintaining the flash-flood threat.