Weather
Heat, scattered storms linger on the southern Plains
Across the Corn Belt, rain is ending early Tuesday across the Ohio Valley and the lower Great Lakes region. The remainder of the Midwest is experiencing cool weather, along with widespread cloudiness and isolated showers. U.S. corn, 78% emerged by June 5, is developing at the second-slowest pace of the 21st century. However, growth was significantly slower in 2019, when only 53% of the nation’s corn had emerged on that date.
On the Plains, triple-digit heat is confined to central, western, and southern Texas, where Tuesday’s high temperatures will again generally range from 100 to 105°F. Meanwhile, drought-easing thunderstorms continue to pepper areas as far south as Oklahoma, although the rain is too late to benefit most winter grains. On June 5, the winter wheat harvest was 36 and 15% complete, respectively, in Texas and Oklahoma. Farther north, cool, cloudy, showery weather lingers across the northern and central Plains; Tuesday’s temperatures will remain below 70°F in much of Montana and the Dakotas.
In the South, very warm, dry weather along and near the Gulf Coast is promoting a rapid pace of crop development. Farther inland, scattered showers are maintaining abundant moisture reserves for pastures and summer crops. On June 5, at least one-half of the pastures were rated in good to excellent condition in all Southeastern States except the Carolinas.
In the West, building heat stretches from California to the southern Rockies, amid drought intensification. On June 5, Arizona led the U.S. with its rangeland and pastures rated 84% very poor to poor. Meanwhile, cool conditions linger across the interior Northwest, although precipitation has ended.
