Weather
Mild weather returning to the Heartland
Across the Corn Belt, mild, breezy weather is developing in advance of an approaching storm system. As a result, upper Midwestern snow cover is gradually melting. Farther south, Tuesday’s high temperatures will reach 60°F or higher as far north as the middle Mississippi Valley. Following last Friday’s tornado outbreak, localized storm recovery continues from Missouri to Ohio.
On the Plains, unusually warm, windy weather prevails, particularly across the southern half of the region. Tuesday’s warmth, featuring high temperatures ranging from 65 to 75°F or higher from Kansas to Texas, is further reducing soil moisture for winter wheat. In addition, an elevated wildfire threat exists on the central and southern High Plains. Elsewhere, mild, breezy weather across the northern Plains is eroding a previously widespread snow cover.
In the South, weather conditions remain generally favorable for tornado recovery in Kentucky and portions of neighboring states. Tuesday’s high temperatures should range from near 60°F in northern Kentucky to 80°F or higher in southern sections of Florida and Texas. Throughout the region, dry weather favors autumn fieldwork, including cotton harvesting.
In the West, a storm system is producing drought-easing precipitation from California northeastward. Flash flooding and debris flows remain a threat in parts of California, especially on recently burned hillsides, while snow is accumulating at high-elevation sites from the Sierra Nevada to the northern Rockies. High winds precede and accompany the storminess.
