Weather
Much-needed moisture develops on the Plains
Across the Corn Belt, warm weather prevails in advance of an approaching storm system. Monday’s high temperatures should reach 70°F or higher in most areas along and south of a line from Iowa to Ohio. Cool conditions linger across the upper Great Lakes region and the far upper Midwest, although temperatures are high enough to erode any remaining snow from northeastern North Dakota to Upper Michigan.
On the Plains, an elevated wildfire threat continues in parts of Texas, despite an increase in cloudiness and humidity. The Eastland Complex—multiple fires, which began on March 16 or 17, that have been combined for management purposes— has destroyed dozens of homes in Carbon, Texas, and has scorched more than 54,000 acres of vegetation in or near Eastland County. Farther north, precipitation is starting to overspread the central Plains, signaling the onset of a wetter pattern that should benefit rangeland, pastures, and winter grains.
In the South, warm, dry weather favors spring fieldwork, winter wheat development, and emergence of recently planted summer crops, including corn and sorghum. In Texas, 27% of the intended corn acreage and 18% of the sorghum had been planted by March 13, according to USDA/NASS.
In the West, light snow is falling in portions of the central and southern Rockies, while heavier precipitation is moving ashore in the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, unfavorably dry weather prevails in California; with the snow accumulation season nearly over, the average water equivalency of the Sierra Nevada snowpack stands at less than 60% of average.