Midwest Crops Swelter In High Temperatures, Little Relief Ahead

It wasn’t a flooded corn or soybean field people were talking about and posting pictures of to social media early Monday morning. Instead, it was Dodger Stadium, the iconic ball field and parking lot in Los Angeles were swamped by tropical storm Hilary, with pictures of the damage going viral.

“This thing went right up into southern California and dropped 3” to 6” of rain in spots, which is a big deal for that area,” Bret Walts, a meteorologist for BAMWX.com told Davis Michaelsen on AgriTalk earlier Monday. “Dodger Stadium was surrounded by water – just all kinds of flash flooding – and certainly our thoughts and prayers are with all those folks that influenced by that.”

Michaelsen is at the helm of AgriTalk this week while Host Chip Flory is leading the western leg of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour.

Hot Temperatures Ahead 

While parts of southern California were under water, Walts says hot, deadly temperatures are in the forecast for the Midwest – with limited chance for rain and relief this week from the heat. 

“It's just going to be nasty to be completely honest,” Walts says. “In Nebraska today, we're talking about temperatures in the hundreds for much of the state. It's record-breaking heat, not your everyday heat. And then you're looking at heat indices for some of these areas, especially in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska, that are at 110 to 115 degrees plus. That's dangerous heat.”

The Pro Farmer Crop Tour is underway today through Thursday across seven Midwest states, and the high temperatures are concerning to the 100-plus scouts taking part.

"We've warned the scouts about these temperatures, and we're going to be watching out for each other out there," Flory says. "We're going to do our best to stay hydrated on the road, but this is a different situation than what we've had to deal with in the past. Some extreme heat like this is going to make for an interesting tour."

Hear the insights and initial thoughts on the Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 1 from Flory and Brian Grete, leader of the Eastern leg of the tour, here.

Too Hot Even For Mid-August

A heat dome will consume the Plains and Mississippi Valley into the South this week with oppressive and dangerous conditions, the National Weather Service reported early Monday.

"...The more widespread weather hazard extending through midweek involves searing temperatures impacting a majority of the central U.S. and Gulf Coast," the NWS said. "Dangerous heat underneath an extremely potent upper-level ridge centered over the Middle Mississippi Valley is forecast to stretch from parts of the Upper Midwest to the Gulf Coast. Highs into the upper-90s and triple digits will be easy to come by over the next several days, with heat indices into the 110s when taking into account the humidity."

The Weather Channel offered this look at today’s conditions across the U.S. at 2 p.m. Eastern. Temperatures at several Texas locations and in Oklahoma City, Okla., were at 100 degrees Fahrenheit or slightly higher.

Maybe A Break By The Weekend
Walts says there could be some break in the heat, a short-lived cold front, that could reach parts of Kansas and Nebraska by Saturday. 

“To be honest, the way that the cold front is coming in, it's actually coming in more from the northeast; it's not your typical cold front,” he told Michaelsen, who was filling in for Host Chip Flory, who is leading the western leg of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour this week.

“It’s not going to be a big moisture producer, but I do think we're going to see some relief from the heat as we work into this next weekend,” Walts says. “Some areas could get into the 70s to low 80s for the Midwest, in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and northern Illinois. But there's not going to be a whole lot of moisture with it.”

Drought Holds Crops In Its Grip

Many acres of crops are still feeling the effects of little moisture relief this month, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor released on Thursday, August 15. 

It reported that 42% of U.S. corn acres are under drought conditions as are 38% of soybeans. In addition, sixty percent of sorghum acres are experiencing drought.

Looking ahead, Walts says he expects the High Plains to continue to see higher temperatures than usual moving into early September.

“I do think the Plains are going to stay hotter than normal, and I think a good part of the ag belt stays drier than normal through the first week of September,” he predicts.

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