Weather
Quiet, comfortable weather across the Heartland
Across the Corn Belt, cool, dry weather favors summer crop maturation. On August 30, nearly two-thirds (63%) of the U.S. corn had dented, while 12% of the crop was fully mature. On the same date, 8% of the nation’s soybeans were dropping leaves.
On the Plains, dry weather favors fieldwork, including summer crop harvesting and winter wheat planting preparations. However, widespread soil moisture shortages across the High Plains are adversely affecting rangeland and pastures. In addition, temperatures are currently rebounding to near- or above-normal levels.
In the South, showers stretch from Arkansas into eastern Texas. Many creeks and streams in the mid-South are receding, following heavy rain earlier in the week. In Danville, Arkansas, the Petit Jean River is falling after cresting on September 2 at 7.28 feet above flood—the seventh-highest level on record in that locations and the highest since December 2015.
In the West, record-setting heat is maintaining stress on rangeland and pastures. On September 3, a high temperature of 106° in Bishop, California, tied a monthly record originally set on September 2, 1950. Excessively hot weather prevails in much of California and the Desert Southwest; Friday’s high temperatures could exceed 120° in the hottest desert locations. Despite the heat, containment of California’s two largest lightning-sparked wildfire complexes (392,000 and 375,000 acres of vegetation burned, respectively) has reached 80%.
