Weather
Early Spring storminess winds-down across the Corn Belt
Across the Corn Belt, cool, cloudy, blustery weather is keeping fieldwork at a minimum. In addition, widespread rain and snow showers linger across the Great Lakes region. Thursday’s high temperatures will remain below 40°F across much of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Upper Michigan.
On the Plains, mostly dry weather accompanies a warming trend. Although recent precipitation has locally boosted topsoil moisture, many areas remain dry. On March 27, statewide topsoil moisture rated very short to short across the region ranged from 44% in North Dakota to 96% in Montana. At 82%, Texas led the southern Plains on that date in topsoil moisture rated very short to short.
In the South, heavy showers and locally severe thunderstorms are affecting the southern Atlantic States. Cooler, drier air covers the remainder of the South, except in southern Texas, where hot weather persists. Despite recent rain-related delays in some areas, planting activities are well underway across the Deep South. On March 27, more than one-half (51%) of the intended corn acreage had been planted in Louisiana and Texas.
In the West, negligible precipitation is occurring, despite widespread cloudiness. Spotty rain and snow showers are limited to the Intermountain West and northern Rockies. During the recent Western warm spell, more than one-quarter of the water equivalency of the Sierra Nevada snowpack was lost to melting and evaporation. As a result, the Sierra Nevada ends the accumulation season with a snow-water equivalency of 11 inches, less than 40% of the late-March average.
