USDA’s Joint Ag Weather Facility says in the Corn Belt, showers are mostly ending in the wake of a cold front’s passage. “Clouds and a few showers linger, however, in the vicinity of the Great Lakes,” it adds. Cool, breezy weather covers much of the Midwest, USDA reports.
In the West, record-setting heat continues west of the Rockies. “Some of the most extreme heat, relative to normal, is occurring in the Great Basin and the Northwest,” USDA details. Meanwhile, more than six dozen wildfires, in various stages of containment, are burning across the West from the Pacific Coast to the northern Rockies, USDA continues. By Sept. 4, year-to-date U.S. wildfires had burned more than 7.6 million acres of vegetation, according to the department.
On the Plains, USDA says cool, dry weather favors summer crop harvesting and winter wheat planting preparations. “This morning’s minimum temperatures dipped below 40°F across large sections of the northern High Plains, but there was no widespread freeze,” USDA elaborates.
In the South, USDA reports widely scattered showers stretch from the southern tip of Texas to the southern Atlantic Coast. “The majority of the region is experiencing dry weather—favoring summer crop maturation and harvesting—but a few showers and thunderstorms are spreading into the Tennessee Valley in advance of a cold front,” USDA continues.
In its outlook, USDA says early today, Irma became a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustain winds of 175 mph. “Currently, Irma is centered about 270 miles east of Antigua in the northeastern Caribbean, moving westward at 14 mph. On its current course, Irma poses a major, mid- to late-week threat to many islands in the northern Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. By week’s end, Irma could be in the vicinity of Cuba or southern Florida as a major hurricane,” USDA explains. Meanwhile, an early-season cool spell will blanket the central and eastern U.S. with cool air, USDA continues. “On Wednesday, the upper Midwest should experience scattered frost but no widespread freeze,” the department details. In contrast, a late-season heat wave will persist in the West, USDA adds. “Toward week’s end, warmth will return to areas as far east as the High Plains,” USDA reports.
