Weather
Excessively wet pattern across much of the Corn Belt
Across the Corn Belt, showers and thunderstorms stretch from Michigan to Missouri. Although heavy rain has ended across northern Illinois and environs, lowland flooding persists in some areas. Meanwhile, cool, dry air is overspreading the upper Midwest, where scattered frost was reported early Friday.
On the Plains, locally heavy showers and thunderstorms are sparking flash flooding early Friday in parts of Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma. Elsewhere, warm, humid weather across the southern Plains contrasts with chilly conditions across the northern half of the region. Cool weather across the northern Plains remains a hindrance to crop emergence and development.
In the South, a slowly developing low-pressure system north of Cuba is producing rain across southern Florida. Showers and thunderstorms are affecting other areas, including the Ozark Plateau and the central Gulf Coast region. In fact, some flash flooding is occurring early Friday in southwestern Missouri and portions of neighboring states. Elsewhere, including much of the southern Atlantic region, warm, dry weather is promoting fieldwork and crop development.
In the West, mostly dry weather prevails between storm systems, although showers linger across the northern Rockies. Despite recent showers, drought remains a concern in parts of the Northwest, where Oregon’s topsoil moisture was rated 53% very short to short on May 10.
