Seasonal coolness covers much of the Heartland

Weather

Seasonal coolness covers much of the Heartland

Across the Corn Belt, frost and freezes were reported Friday morning generally along and northwest of a line from southeastern Nebraska to southern Wisconsin. Upper Midwestern freezes are normal this time of year; many locations experienced an extended growing season that only ended in the last day or two. Meanwhile, the growing season continues across the southern and eastern Corn Belt, despite a turn toward cooler (but more typical) weather.

On the Plains, frost was noted early Friday as far south as scattered locations in northern Kansas and eastern Colorado. Meanwhile, dry weather and above-normal temperatures are promoting summer crop maturation and harvesting on the southern Plains, where Friday’s high temperatures should reach or exceed 80°F in much of Texas and parts of Oklahoma.

In the South, lingering warmth from the western Gulf Coast region to the southern Atlantic Coast favors summer crop maturation and harvesting. Isolated showers across the lower Southeast are causing only fleeting fieldwork delays. Meanwhile, some cooler air has overspread the interior Southeast (e.g. Tennessee Valley), where Friday’s high temperatures will generally range from 60 to 75°F.

In the West, the latest round of stormy weather is moving ashore across northern California and the Pacific Northwest. On northern California hillsides destabilized by recent large wildfires, flash flooding and debris flows are a threat. However, the precipitation is also helping to replenish topsoil moisture, which on October 17 was rated (by USDA/NASS) 87% very short to short in Washington, along with 75% in California and 69% in Oregon.

.