The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) expects above-normal precip across the bulk of the Corn Belt from September through November, which if realized, would make for a long harvest season. The forecast calls for equal chances of normal, below- or above-normal temps cross the Corn Belt. It’s 30-day outlook for September calls for above-normal precip across the eastern Corn Belt and Missouri, with equal chances of normal, below- or above-normal precip across the western Corn Belt.
The CPC says since drought has recently been reestablished across Iowa, northern Missouri and the lower Mississippi Valley, but those areas are in line for relief to lead to forecasts for removal of drought from that region this fall. But the long-lasting drought is expected to remain in place across much of Nebraska, western Kansas southward across Texas and westward. “Persistence is forecast across the extreme to exceptional drought areas from the Oklahoma Panhandle north to western Nebraska, while prospects for improvement increase to the east across central Kansas, western Oklahoma, and northern Texas,” it states.
“Improvement is also expected for the short-term drought areas of the lower Mississippi Valley, Missouri, and Iowa. In contrast, persistence is forecast for the intermountain West, Great Basin, and for ongoing drought areas along the West Coast where the wet season arrives late in this outlook period.”
