Weather
Rains return to parts of the N. Plains, upper Midwest
Across the Corn Belt, rain showers spreading across areas west of the Mississippi River are further improving topsoil moisture but providing only limited benefit for maturing corn and soybeans that have been adversely affected by drought. Chilly weather accompanies the upper Midwestern rain; Thursday’s high temperatures will remain below 70°F in parts of Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas. Meanwhile, the remainder of the Corn Belt is experiencing mild, dry weather.
On the Plains, tropical moisture interacting with a cold front is producing a band of rain stretching from the Dakotas to western Texas. Across the northern Plains, rain is slowing fieldwork but providing additional drought relief in advance of the winter wheat planting season. Elsewhere, hot, dry weather continues across the southeastern Plains, where Thursday’s high temperatures will approach 100°F.
In the South, hot, humid conditions are complicating hurricane recovery efforts in eastern Louisiana, especially where electricity has not been restored. Hot, humid weather also prevails in the western Gulf Coast region, but cooler, drier air is overspreading an area stretching from the Tennessee Valley eastward to the middle Atlantic Coast. Elsewhere, scattered showers continue along the Gulf Coast, while a few heavier showers are occurring across Florida.
In the West, rain showers across the Four Corners States are gradually ending. The remainder of the western U.S. remains dry, although cool conditions and lighter winds are aiding wildfire containment efforts. Still, several dangerous blazes—including the 207,000-acre Caldor Fire and 847,000-acre Dixie Fire—continue to threaten several northern California communities and are contributing to degraded Northwestern air quality.
