Weather
Temps vary; developing storm system across the Heartland
Across the Corn Belt, preparations for an impending winter storm are underway. For Wednesday, benign conditions are in place, although chilly conditions across the upper Midwest contrast with unusual warmth in the southern and eastern Corn Belt. Wednesday’s high temperatures could reach 65°F or higher in the lower Ohio Valley.
On the Plains, snow is spreading across parts of Montana. Meanwhile, a cold front separates cool air across the northwestern half of the region from lingering warmth on the southern Plains. Wednesday’s high temperatures will reach 70°F or higher across much of Oklahoma and Texas. On the southern High Plains, warm, dry, windy weather; ample cured fuels; and low humidity levels are contributing to a significantly elevated threat of grassfires.
In the South, warm, dry weather favors early-season fieldwork and other outdoor activities, including farm maintenance. Rangeland and pastures in the Deep South have begun to recover from recent freezes, although more than two-thirds (68%) of Florida’s pastures were rated in very poor to poor condition on February 13.
In the West, a storm system crossing the Desert Southwest has begun to turn eastward. At this point in its development, the storm is dynamic but starved for moisture, leading to breezy, cooler weather but little precipitation. Farther north, a separate disturbance is producing snow showers, mainly in the northern Rockies.
