Beneficial rains over parts of the southern Corn Belt

Weather

Beneficial rains over parts of the southern Corn Belt

Across the Corn Belt, showers and thunderstorms are occurring across southern corn and soybean production areas, mainly from Missouri into the Ohio Valley. Meanwhile, cool, dry weather across the remainder of the Midwest favors reproductive to filling summer crops. However, patchy drought exists in several areas, particularly from northeastern Nebraska into central Iowa and in the eastern Corn Belt.

On the Plains, mostly dry weather accompanies a surge of cooler air. Showers linger, however, across the southeastern Plains. Despite recent rainfall, drought persists on the central and southern High Plains. On July 26, Texas led the nation among major production states in cotton and peanuts rated very poor to poor—23 and 10%, respectively. Meanwhile, Colorado reported a U.S.-leading 28% of its corn and sorghum in very poor to poor condition.

In the South, hot, humid conditions linger in the southern Atlantic States and portions of the Gulf Coast region. Meanwhile, markedly cooler air is overspreading the mid-South, accompanied by locally heavy showers and thunderstorms. Flash-flood concerns are most pronounced from the Ozark Plateau eastward into Virginia.

In the West, hot, dry weather favors fieldwork and crop development. Weather conditions are nearly ideal for Northwestern small grain harvesting, as crops such as winter wheat, spring wheat, and barley continue to rapidly dry down. However, there is an elevated threat of wildfires across portions of the interior Northwest. In addition, warnings for excessively hot weather remain in effect in the Northwest (east of the Cascades) and Desert Southwest.

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