Weather
A change in weather underway on parts of the Plains
Across the Corn Belt, a final day of mild, dry weather is promoting fieldwork, including corn and soybean harvesting and winter wheat planting. Wednesday’s high temperatures should approach or reach 70°F across the southern tier of the Corn Belt, including the Ohio Valley. During the week ending November 7, muddy field conditions improved in previously wet areas east of the Mississippi River; for example, topsoil moisture rated surplus decreased from 65 to 39% in Michigan, from 46 to 9% in Illinois, from 45 to 25% in Indiana, and from 42 to 26% in Ohio.
On the Plains, light rain has developed in several areas, primarily across the northern half of the region. Despite recent and ongoing precipitation across the northern Plains, drought impacts—such as limited surface water supplies and poor rangeland and pasture conditions—persist. Meanwhile on the central and southern High Plains, short-term dryness favors fieldwork but is adversely affecting some fall-sown crops.
In the South, autumn fieldwork continues to advance under a warm, dry weather regime. Wednesday’s high temperatures should exceed 70°F throughout the region, with some readings above 80°F in southern Texas and peninsular Florida. In North Carolina, one-half of the intended winter wheat acreage was planted by November 7, while harvesting of crops such as cotton (58% harvested) and soybeans (57%) surpassed the halfway mark in recent days.
In the West, rain and snow showers linger from the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rockies. Mild, dry weather covers the remainder of the region, including California, the Great Basin, and the Southwest. The Western cotton harvest remains ahead of schedule and on November 7 was 85 and 52% complete, respectively, in California and Arizona.
