USDA’s Joint Ag Weather Facility says in the Corn Belt, showery weather is halting most fieldwork, following last week’s phenomenal corn planting pace. “Nearly half (43%) of the U.S. corn was planted during the week ending May 19, led by Illinois (57%), Iowa (56%), and Minnesota (52%),” USDA details. Similarly, 18% of the U.S. soybeans were planted during the seven days ending May 19, paced by Michigan (36%), Ohio (29%), and Nebraska (26%), USDA continues.
In the West, USDA says much cooler air is overspreading the Pacific Northwest, accompanied by widespread showers. “In contrast, a ribbon of warm, dry weather stretches from central and southern California to the northern Intermountain West,” USDA explains.
“On the Plains, recovery efforts continue in the wake of the tragic tornado in Moore, Oklahoma,” USDA reports. Thunderstorms have re-developed across portions of the Southern Plains, including tornado-ravaged areas south of Oklahoma City, USDA continues. “Meanwhile, very cool weather prevails across the Northern and Central Plains,” according to USDA. Fieldwork remains at a standstill in the Dakotas, where rain showers persist, it adds.
In the South, USDA says locally severe thunderstorms are racing across several areas, including parts of Arkansas and western portions of Kentucky and Tennessee. “A few heavy showers are also occurring along the southern Atlantic Coast,” USDA continues. Across the remainder of the region, planting activities continue, USDA adds.
In its outlook, USDA says a slow-moving storm centered over the Upper Midwest will drift eastward, reaching the northern Atlantic states by Thursday. “Another widespread outbreak of severe thunderstorms can be expected later today, especially from Michigan to eastern Texas,” USDA explains. On Wednesday, USDA reports lingering strong thunderstorms may spread as far east as the upper Ohio Valley and the lower Great Lakes region. “Additional rainfall associated with the storm could reach 1 to 3 inches, especially in the Mid-South, Northeast and along the southern Atlantic Coast,” USDA explains. Elsewhere, much cooler air will arrive in the Far West, but heat will build by week’s end on the High Plains, according to USDA.
