Weather
Record-setting, late-season cold across the Heartland
Across the Corn Belt, an historic, late-season cold outbreak is underway. Widespread freezes were noted Friday morning across the northern Corn Belt from the Dakotas to Wisconsin. However, crop emergence has been slow, despite rapid planting progress in some areas. For example, Minnesota’s corn crop was 76% planted and 3% emerged on May 3. Meanwhile, rain is falling early Friday in the southern Corn Belt, from Missouri to Ohio, along the leading edge of sharply cold air.
On the Plains, unusually cool weather is slowing crop development, including the emergence and growth of spring-sown crops. Freezes occurred early Friday in the Dakotas and portions of neighboring states. Meanwhile, winds are howling across the southern Plains Friday morning, with gusts topping 50 mph in some locations. Overnight thunderstorms produced some wind and hail damage, primarily across Oklahoma and northern Texas.
In the South, showers and thunderstorms are sweeping across the Mississippi Delta and portions of adjacent regions, including the Tennessee Valley. Meanwhile, cool, dry weather favors fieldwork in the southern Atlantic States. Producers in Kentucky, Tennessee, and the southern Appalachians are bracing for the likelihood of weekend freezes.
In the West, warm, dry weather is promoting fieldwork and crop development. Above-normal temperatures are most prominent along and near the Pacific Coast and in the Desert Southwest.
