Weather
Cooler, drier air briefly settles into the Corn Belt
Across the Corn Belt, slightly cooler weather prevails in the wake of a cold front’s passage. Nevertheless, Friday’s high temperature should still exceed 90°F from Nebraska into the lower Ohio Valley. Meanwhile, much of the Corn Belt is experiencing sunny weather, although strong thunderstorms are occurring early Friday in the middle Mississippi Valley.
On the Plains, building heat, accompanied by dry weather, favors winter wheat maturation and harvesting. Hot weather is also promoting summer crop development, although acute soil moisture shortages persist across large sections of the High Plains, from Montana to Texas. On June 12, Texas led the region with topsoil moisture rated 79% very short to short.
In the South, hot, humid, unsettled weather prevails. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will become more numerous later Friday, providing local relief from extremely hot conditions. Friday’s high temperatures will approach or reach 100°F in many areas, including the Atlantic Coast States as far north as southeastern Virginia.
In the West, scattered showers are mostly confined to the Pacific Northwest. However, signs of an early monsoon onset are underway in the Four Corners States, as indicated by increasing cloudiness and humidity, along with spotty showers. Elsewhere, water levels along the upper reaches of the Yellowstone River have begun to rise again, largely due to melting mountain snowpack, although secondary crests will remain far below the record-setting peaks achieved on June 13-14.
